"I was born in London somewhere in the sixteen-forties. I'm not too sure on that. Time wasn't really marked accurately then, not for the common people anyway. I lived with my father and older brother . . . Carlisle."
"Carlisle?" Nolan asked, eyebrows beginning to rise. "As in Cullen?"
"Yes."
Anala stared at Rowan in shock. She hadn't seen it before, but it was there, in the jaw line, the shape of his eyes. Rowan's hair was lighter though, much lighter, where Carlisle had sun kissed locks that were a lovely golden blonde, Rowan's hair was the palest of gold, so much so, that it looked almost white. His features were also softer, less sharp, but the resemblance was definitely there. "I was born in London somewhere in the sixteen-forties. I'm not too sure on that. Time wasn't really marked accurately then, not for the common people anyway. I lived with my father and older brother . . . Carlisle."
"Carlisle?" Nolan asked, eyebrows beginning to rise. "As in Cullen?"
"Yes."
Anala stared at Rowan in shock. She hadn't seen it before, but it was there, in the jaw line, the shape of his eyes. Rowan's hair was lighter though, much lighter, where Carlisle had sun kissed locks that were a lovely golden blonde, Rowan's hair was the palest of gold, so much so, that it looked almost white. His features were also softer, less sharp, but the resemblance was definitely there.
Rowan continued. "We were the sons of an Anglican pastor and our mother had died giving birth to me. Our father was an intolerant man. As the Protestants came into power, he was enthusiastic in his persecution of Roman Catholics and other religions. He believed very strongly in the reality of evil, drilled it into Carlisle and I all our lives. He would lead hunts for witches, werewolves, vampires and even performed exorcisms every now and again. They burned a lot of innocent people—of course, the real creatures that he sought after were not so easy to catch.
"My father was always fonder of Carlisle than I. He was the obedient son, and the eldest by three years. He knew that one day our father would want him to lead the raids and hunts once he could no longer do it. He would have done it to satisfy our father and I knew I would never do it myself, I didn't see the point in terrorizing innocents when they had done no wrong.
"One day, my father and I got into an argument. I was not feeling well and I was irritable. I can't remember what it was about but things escalated quickly and he accused me of being possessed by demons, that my soul was corrupted and evil. He and others from the church performed blessings and exorcisms on me for weeks. Some of them had even tried to beat the evil out of me." Rowan shook his in slight exasperation. "Eventually, they decided I was beyond saving and one night they snatched me from my bed and dragged me to the town square." His voice became quieter. "I was thrown onto a platform and a noose was wrapped around my neck. There was a crowd of people, yelling and screaming, but I focused on my father, begging him to come to his senses. He said that I was a demon who had taken his wife and now his son. I looked at Carlisle, hoping he would make him see reason but I suppose he was just as terrified as I was." He smiled softly, violet eyes dark. "My father said a single prayer and gave the signal to end it. I was nineteen.
"I died that night, I know I did, but I awoke in the field near my home. I was with a woman who I thought she was either an angel or a beautiful demon, either way I didn't care, I was too stunned. She held my head in her lap and smiled at me. I asked her what she was but she merely shook her head and asked me if I wished to live. I told her yes. The woman told me that new life came with a price. That we would be bound forever and that I would become a protector and companion. Varyar.
"I knew that I wouldn't mind it. I didn't know what a Varyar was but still, I accepted because it felt right to do so. Her teeth grew in length and she bit into her wrist and told me to drink." Rowan traced his finger over his wrist, probably where the woman had bit down on her own. "Her blood was sweet and hot and indescribable feeling coursed through me. When she pulled away, the wound healed quickly, as if it never happened. Even after all these years I can't put into words what happened after that. My human body was dying, changing into something better, stronger, but the woman looked as sad as she watched me. It felt almost painful, and on some level I think it was, but at the same time it wasn't. As I said, I can't really put it into words. I was unconscious for hours and when I awoke the beautiful woman was still there. She asked me not to hate her too much for what I'd turned into. I told her I could never.
Rowan looked straight into Anala's eyes. "The rest is pretty much history."
Anala felt a violent tug on her mind while hearing Rowan's story. She had an overwhelming sense that she needed to realize something. But what? What was it that had been making her feel as if she needed to remember all these things? Tentative thoughts started coming together in her mind but Anala asked anyway. "What does this have to do with us?"
Rowan's intense violet eyes bore into her own.
"You and Nolan are the ones from our stories."
Anala sat, unsure of what to say. Did he really expect her to believe that? Did she even believe it? How was she expected to comprehend that she'd been around for hundreds of years and had made Rowan, Carlisle's brother into a . . . . A Varyar, whatever that was. It was ridiculous, preposterous even, but even as her mind rejected the thought, as Rowan spoke, she could easily picture it; the slight breeze rustling grass, endless stars above her, the cool spring water on her skin as she gently washed blood off pink lips and smiled reassuringly as violet eyes looked around with child-like amazement. Anala looked at Nolan, taking in his reaction. He sat still, staring blankly at Rowan. The slight twitch in his jaw told her he did not know what to say either. Rowan and Elias lowered to sit silently. Their faces were serious as they watched them, gaging their reactions.
"You're insane."
Elias leaned forward, eyes turning pleading. "Nolan, just let us—"
"No," Nolan shook his head. "No. this doesn't make any sense."
"Is it really that hard to believe?" Elias asked. "You two can see and communicate with spirits still on this earth. You can do extraordinary things. Haven't you wondered as to how or why?"
Anala didn't know what to say.
"And what about the dreams you two have? Do you really think they're just dreams?" Both Anala and her brother were silent. She wondered how he knew about the dreams.
"Just let us explain." The blonde said.
Anala stared for a long moment. "Okay," she said quietly.
She turned to Nolan. He was looking at her incredulously. Not believing she was going along with what they were saying.
"The least we can do is listen." She told him. Nolan sat pensively for a minute before sighing and nodding.
"Thank you," Rowan murmured. "I know this is hard to believe but it's true and while you don't know it, your bodies do."
"Our bodies?"
"I'm guessing that lately you've been tired or drained of energy and having familiar dreams and visions."
"How do you know this?" Nolan asked, bewildered.
"Once we found out about what Carus had done to keep us from finding you, we knew what would happen. Carus anticipated it and sent out decoys of you two, which is part of why it took so long to find you."
"What do you mean by decoys?" Anala asked.
"Demons, a bit more like puppets actually. He used your blood to create them. Outwardly they look and smell like you but the energy is always different and since we haven't seen you in over a hundred years, well at least here, we had to make sure you were really you."
"There are demon versions of us walking around more than likely killing people?" Strange, inhuman puppets came to mind; terrorizing and killing people in despicable ways wearing her skin. Anala shook her head, disbelieving.
"Wait, what did he do to us?"
"Let's start with you first," Elias said. Rowan shifted next to him, scanning his eyes over the trees. "It'll make this easier to understand. Bear with us for a bit longer. You've been around for a long time, roughly since the time of Methuselah which was from 3271-2302 B.C. that actually dates back to before the flood, according to the biblical time-line. But where you're from, time works differently. The Layame were a race of Seraphim that have slowly died out over the centuries. According to the legends, when the angels fell to earth some lost their way, becoming demons but a few were discovered by a tribe of Mages, mating with them and giving birth to what became your race. Natural vampires, nymphs, succubus, and incubi are the closest relatives of the Layame. They exist on the border between the human realm and the next which is why you can sense the spirits that linger here. After the fall of the royal family the rest fell too. Now, you are the last ones and whatever Layame that survived went into hiding, are associated with the Lotus, or didn't survive long after the fall of the crown."
"What happened to the royal family? And what does our uncle have to do with this? Why couldn't they survive? What's the Lotus?" Anala desperately wanted to understand.
Rowan ran a hand over his fair hair, mussing it slightly. "You have to understand that where there is good, there is always evil. In the Cathari line, there are twins born in every generation for a reason. You two, your father and Carus, their cousins, your grandmothers; you keep the balance, not necessarily of good and evil but between light and dark in the universe; life and death. Your uncle was your father's brother, his twin. He was the black sheep of the family but your parents treated him no different. Carus was supposed to inherit the throne since the firstborn child is usually the one born with the Trait. It appeared in your father more powerfully instead and he was raised to rule. Carus became angry and resentful, he wanted the throne for himself and was willing to go through any means to get it. He plotted and raised a massive army in secret. He called upon dark forces to aid him as well and was actually able to separate his soul from his body if his physical body was ever destroyed, but that takes a lot of power and takes a long time to recover from. It would make him too weak now and he wouldn't be able to survive a fight. Once you two were born he and some of his army stormed the Arceon, capturing, torturing and eventually killing all of the royal family but you two."
"Arceon?" Nolan asked.
Rowan's brows furrowed slightly. "I guess it would be a . . . a kingdom of sorts. In the chaos of the attack, your mother was able to smuggle you out with one of the servant girls and her husband with instructions to be taken to the Black Lotus. The Black Lotus was, and still is, a secret guard that was created to serve and protect the Cathari family. Only the most trusted knew of it. Layame thrive together. The balance your family line keeps also served to keep the race alive. Without the royal family people began to die.
"Since that day Nolan you were raised to defeat your uncle and restore the balance while you, Anala, trained at the temple. When Carus reappeared to finish what he'd started, both you and Nolan just barely defeated him. At the last minute you performed a Call of Spirits. Something that powerful takes up massive amounts of energy and power, so with you two already weakened, it made matters worse. Elias and I were too far away, lost in the chaos, but everyone was a witness to it. You two managed to defeat him. His body was destroyed and he barely managed to escape with his soul intact. But you two were dying. The Call had put too much strain on your already weak bodies. We did the only thing we could. We did a resurrection ritual of sorts, turning you back into the earliest forms of life. Both of you were kept hidden as you developed into newborns. You went into a stasis, never awakening. We all concluded that you would wake when you were ready so we hid you away.
"Carus was able to take a new body and find the shrine you were hidden in. he broke the stasis and kidnapped you both. Ever since then we've been searching, but it hasn't been easy. He was able to hide you very well and it kept us from being able to find you before."
"If this happened, why don't we remember?"
Anala wondered the same. It all seemed so farfetched. She remembered being a child, growing up with witches and Javan and Carus, not fighting and strange creatures.
"Those dreams you've been having are memories. Carus placed a seal on you to keep your power contained. In turn that took your memories as well, but once a seal is placed it cannot be forcefully removed, so all he had to do was wait. We've been looking for you both for the better part of a hundred years on this realm and the seals on you two lengthened our search. We would have found you sooner but your dear uncle did a good job of keeping you under the radar." At the mention of the twins uncle, both Rowan's and Elias's moods darkened. "That's why you lost control yesterday, Nolan. The men of your family inherit an identifying trait. You have it, your father had it, going all the way back to the first in your family line."
"Trait?" he asked.
"Power. Raw, unfiltered power. It's what makes you such a formidable enemy. Carus could never beat you on fair terms. That fight or flight instinct triggered it. You and Anala are powerful, you keep the balance of power and you two also keep each other balanced. Twins are born in every generation because of that Power, it would kill any one person alone."
Anala was speechless. Her thoughts were torn between disbelief and conviction. The story sounded familiar, rousing memories and emotions that she didn't know were there. She knew that any normal person would claim these two were insane and forget the whole ordeal but Anala couldn't deny that they were telling the truth. Her own memories were the proof. Granted, they were memories that she didn't know she had until recently, but they were hers. Anala ran a hand through her hair, trying to make sense of everything. Raising her head, Anala was met with violet eyes staring deeply into her own, much closer than they were before. Rowan was crouched, his face inches from hers. Anala swallowed nervously. "Alright," she murmured. "Say I believe you. How would I know what your saying is real?"
"We'll prove it to you. Come with us, at least for a day or so. Carus's demons will scout the area of the town, not the mountains."
"Where?"
Rowan pointed through the trees, to where jagged points of earth could be seen in the distance. "We've settled temporarily just on the other side of the mountains. You will be safer there."
Nolan touched her arm, getting her attention. His eyes questioned her. He was willing and admittedly, Anala was curious. Everything she had heard was beginning to seem more and more likely and this was a chance to finally receive the answers she and Nolan had been searching for. But Anala also saw that she may not want to know all the answers. There were terrible things in her forgotten memory and admittedly, it scared her. Thunder rolled overhead and the flash of lightning illuminated everything in white for a moment and Anala sighed, releasing the tension in her muscles.