Very rough edit guys!
I ran my fingers through my hair as I read the page. One of the 'conditions' of the program was education. Sheila and Martin were big on education and would help all of us get into the right paths to further it if it was something we were interested in.
I didn't think I'd want to do school again, but this was like being homeschooled without the annoying parent over my shoulder.
I had a lot of curiosity about my heritage, and aside from hoping a plane to Istanbul to learn about Turkish culture, I was able to take a course in Scottish History. The education didn't mean I had to get a job, but it was to give us all balance.
The Bonney Prince seemed to be a little bigger than his britches, but he was a figurehead for the Jacobite Revolution. I had asked Janine about her family history, and I learned that were part of the Campbell lineage. It was only fitting that my mother who incited fear into other Guardian's came from one of the most feared Scottish clans of the eighteenth century.
I lifted my head when I heard scuff in Gabriel's room. It was late, late enough that nobody should be awake. I stood up and walked into the hall, stopping in his doorway. He was still asleep, but he wasn't the cause of the noise. And it explained why he didn't wake up at the sound.
Savannah-May stood beside Gabriel's bed, her head tilted as she watched him sleep. I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned carefully against the doorframe. I was always blown away by how much the two looked alike, and it was a nice distraction. Then I didn't linger on the bloody hole on the breast of her shirt.
"He used to sleep like this as a child," Savannah-May mused softly, gesturing to Gabriel. He wasn't exactly lying in child's pose, but it was close to it with one leg sticking out.
"I don't know how he finds that comfortable," I whispered so I didn't wake him. Savannah-May's hand brushed just above his forehead, a smile on her face as she gazed at him.
"Neither did I, but he always slept like that," she said as she sat on the edge of the bed. I always thought ghosts would fall through objects, but I was proven wrong when I woke up to Mason sitting on the bed beside me.
"I wish that his phases came more smoothly; my brother struggled with them too."
My brows raised. "The lycanthropy comes from your side of the family?"
She nodded. "Yes. It skipped me, but my brother started phasing late too. But not like this."
I bit my lip. "Did his father know?"
Savannah-May's expression changed and her lips pursed.
"Yes," she said almost curtly, and I left the topic alone. I knew that there were things that Gabriel wasn't telling me about his father, and I respected that he didn't want to talk about him, but what he wasn't telling me told me a lot.
I left the doorframe and went back into my room, curling up on my side and getting comfortable. There was a message from Eddie and I checked it, sending off a quick reply. When I set my phone down, Savannah-May was standing in my bedroom.
"There's been a lot of talk on this side."
I snorted. "There always is. That's all you guys have to do."
Savannah-May gave me a look identical to Gabriel's when he wasn't impressed with my sarcasm.
"You need to be careful, Rosemarie. There are a lot of unkind people in the world, and they have eyes on you."
"On me?"
"On all of you," she said and glanced towards the wall that separated mine and Gabriel's rooms. I nodded and sighed quietly, sitting up and sitting cross-legged.
"The Moroi?"
She nodded. "Yes. But there are others. Like the being saw with Gabriel the other night"
"We're aware of the Moroi," I reassured her, thinking that she thought the Moroi were the biggest concern. She bit her lip and her head snapped to the side almost violently before she vanished. I waited a few moments before I put my books on the desk and then laid down in bed. I had protections up around my room, but Savannah-May was an 'invited' guest past those warding. I went to the window and checked to see that the salt line was still there, and the crystals that Jerry gifted me sat in their spots.
I got back into bed and rolled onto my side, looking up over the doorframe and seeing the crystals there too. They seemed to help with the activity in my room. I needed it. I needed a place I could go and be able to get away from the activity and presence.
I was almost asleep when I felt a brush over my head and then my shoulder. It didn't feel aggressive, but instead, motherly and gently. It felt like a ripple of wind over my hair.
After a few more days of minimal activity in the house, I went into town to the tourist strip. There was a little shop there that sold crystals and gemstones. What the old woman didn't know was that she had the good stuff, and seriously undercharged herself.
I went through the bowls and put crystals in the cloth back. Clear Quartz, Black Tourmaline, Amethyst, and Black Jasper. I grabbed a variety of Quartz, knowing they all had healing properties and grabbed some of the smudge sticks she had.
"Do you make these yourself?" I asked the older woman. She looked up from her knitting and looked at the sticks in my hand.
"Yes."
"What's in them?" I asked as I sniffed one.
"White sage, lavender, cedar, rosemary, and sweetgrass," she said as she stood up, setting her glasses down on the counter in front of her, "What do you intend to use it for?"
"Smudging and cleansing," I said as I approached the counter, setting my purchases down. She smiled at me and her eyes moved downwards, stilling on my chest. I looked down while putting my hand to my chest.
"You wear a Nazar?"
"Yes, it belonged to my father. Very superstitious," I said with a chuckle.
"Not the only one," she pointed out.
I smiled. "I guess not," I said. She smiled and started calculating the costs of my purchases. I handed her a few bills and jumped when her hand gripped my wrist after to took the bills. Her eyes bore into mine and it was almost unnerving how intently she looked at me.
"What?" I asked.
"He's done a number on you, hasn't he?" she asked, her chin jerking down to my wrist.
I looked at her and gapped for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah."
"It's not you that you're concerned about though. These aren't for you."
"How do you know that?"
"There's a reason why I sell these. You know why," she said cryptically before picking something out of the bowl of bracelets and fastening it around my wrist. It was brownish-pink beads that were glossy and smooth.
"Smokey Quartz. Don't take it off," she said.
"How much?"
"No charge. They are trying to attack your psyche while you sleep. This will protect you, along with your Nazar," she said softly, pointing at the bracelet.
"While I sleep?"
"You're most vulnerable in sleep," she explained as she put everything into a bag for me, "Be careful."
I nodded and took the bag from her, leaving the store as someone else walked in.
When I got home, I was surprised that everyone was out of the house. Not that I minded, it allowed me to smudge the house. I opened the kitchen window a little and one in the living room and lit the stick, walking through the house and reciting what Jerry had told me. When I used the sage when Derek attacked the Guardians, I was going under the basic knowledge I had about smudging, but now I had more information. I started at the front door and went through the room by room, ending off at the front door again.
For good measure, I took the crystals I bought and set them up around the house. Two in each bedroom for added protection, and then some in the living room, kitchen, and Tilda's office downstairs where we all have a weekly session with her.
I had just finished setting up the crystals in the living room inside the fake plant when the front door opened. I glanced at the clock about the fireplace and noticed that it was around the time that Michael got home from school.
"Hey!" I called out, turning around and catching Michael beelining for the stairs.
"Wait! What's wrong?" I asked him. He stilled on the stairs and shrugged.
"Nothing, why?"
"Because you look guilty," I said as I walked towards the stairs. When I got closer, I saw what he was trying to hide.
"What happened?" I asked, carefully brushing his lip with my thumb.
"Nothing," he said quietly and bolted up the stairs. I narrowed my eyes but relaxed my face when the door opened again, Martin and Sheila coming in with Bryce and Emily in tow.
"Hi."
"Hi, is Michael home yet?"
I nodded. "Yeah, he just got home a few minutes ago," I said, noticing Sheila looking at the crystal on the table just inside the door.
"Where did these come from?" she asked.
"Just being cautious," I said quietly. She smiled and gave me a gentle hug as she passed me.
"Help me with dinner?"
I nodded and followed her into the kitchen. She started pulling things out of the cupboards and fridge. I wasn't sure what she was making, but she started washing vegetables and asked me to cut them.
"How have you been sleeping?"
I shrugged as I chopped the celery.
"Fine, I guess. Why?"
She shook her head and pursed her lips. "You've been sleepwalking the last few nights. Not for long, but you've been pacing in the hall."
"Sorry."
"It's okay. I have noticed something."
"What's that?"
"You don't sleepwalk as much when Dimitri is here," she said and I felt my cheeks flush.
"Really?"
She nodded and smiled at me. "I'm sure your body enjoys the reprieve," she said. Dimitri had been coming for almost three months now, and we had all gotten used to him being a figure in the house.
It was hard to make up information for him to feed back to the Moroi, but we were learning more too. Emily had been able to move objects lately, and she was able to take files that we needed to gain more information on what the Moroi knew. Each time she found a new file, it ended up on Dimitri's dresser in his dorm at Court.
"Then I guess I'm lucky he's coming back at the end of the week," I teased as I dumped the celery into the stock pot. Sheila smiled at me.
"Have you spoken to your mother recently?"
I nodded and popped a stray piece of celery into my mouth. My relationship with my mother was strange these days, but ultimately for the better. Now that I was on a day time schedule, our schedules lined up so I'd be able to talk to her once a week.
The phone calls were a request of Abe's. he wanted our relationship to grow like his and mine did, and at first, I only did it to appease him, but then I learned that my mother was someone I could actually consider a friend.
Now that she wasn't someone I was trying to live up to or surpass in reputation, I learned that she was actually kind of brilliant and funny. She had a sense of humour and gave me a lot of support when I opened up to her about being able to see the dead.
She said that her grandmother had talked about how the Moroi's powers sometimes would 'leak' into those closest to them in moments of need and that it was a very common idea in Scotland for people to see ghosts. She originally chalked it up to Scotland's paranormal history but realized what she meant when I told her.
She had made plans to take leave closer to Christmas to come and visit me. Abe had joked that it would be our first family Christmas together. We were on a Zoom call together and joked that it was strange since he didn't celebrate Christmas. That made my mother chuckle at Abe's expense.
"That's good. I'm glad that you're able to speak to her as frequently as you do," Sheila said. She had a mothering heart and treated all of us like her little chicks. Both Emily and Gabriel were orphaned, and Bryce was emancipated. The only person who still had contact with their parents was me. And even that was a rarity in a sense.
"Have you and Dimitri had your chat?"
I rolled my eyes again.
"Subtle," I joked, but she grinned at me.
Sheila grinned at me and raised her brows. "Have you?"
I shook my head. "Just haven't found the right time, you know? He's been working with us, learning what we know, helping decipher what's happening at Court. I don't want to be an additional burden," I explained and Sheila rolled her eyes at me.
"It wouldn't be a burden," she pointed out and I nodded.
"We'll get there. I don't want it to be forced," I said as I set the knife down, reaching for carrots to cut up next.
I had been worried about Michael since he came home yesterday with a busted lip. Everyone else noticed it, but we didn't comment on it. We all sort of tiptoed around the topic. His parents asked what happened, but he said that he slipped on the stairs at school. But I knew what a right hook looked like, and knew what it looked like when someone was punched in the mouth.
The rain had come on in the afternoon, filling the house with the sounds of tapping. It was comforting, and the thunder and lightning filled the night. I went down to the kitchen to get a cup of tea, hoping that it would settle me enough to sleep. There was something about lightning that made spirits more active.
When I walked through the kitchen, I could see Michael sitting on the couch. Everyone else had gone to bed already.
"Hey, you okay?"
Michael looked up and shrugged, looking out the window again. I put the kettle on to boil and walked into the living room.
"I'm surprised you aren't asleep. You've got school tomorrow," I said as I looked out the window, the lightening highlighting the rapidly moving water.
"Were you scared the first time you saw one?"
I sighed quietly and looked at him with a sad smile. I sat next to Michael and rested my elbow on the back.
"Yeah. Nobody is ever prepared for the first time they see a Strigoi. The difference with me was they were someone I knew," I explained, "I froze. And it almost killed me."
Michael shifted in his spot and furrowed his brows.
"Does the fear go away? I keep expecting one to be outside at night. Any time Buckley wants to go outside, I panic a little bit."
"What happened that night was a freak accident. More protection has been put up around the house and inside the house. I promise; you are safe," I promised, squeezing his shoulder. He still looked unsure, but I smiled softly at him.
"I'll keep you safe. We all will. I promise."
Michael nodded and I pulled him towards me, hugging him tightly. It was hard to forget that not every person grew up knowing about Strigoi and what they were capable of. Not everyone knew what to do or what to expect.
My eyes opened and my heart pounded in my chest. I felt like I did when I was out with Gabriel in the bush. I could feel my heart thumping in my chest. I rolled over and tried not to gasp when I saw a black shadow standing in the doorway. I pushed up in bed and squinted at the figure in the doorway. After what I saw in the brush, my heart leaped to my throat, but after a second, I knew who was standing at my door.
"Em?"
Emily stood in the door, but there was something about her that struck me odd. I picked up the soft toy football and lobbed it at her, and watched it fly through her body.
"Go back to sleep, Em," I mumbled as I laid back down, getting comfortable in bed. I rolled onto my side and tucked the blanket up to my nose. It wasn't long before I heard the alarm beep and be disarmed. After a moment, it was armed again.
I laid with my eyes closed and switched to my other side again, trying to get comfortable enough to sleep. I heard a little jingle and smiled tiredly as little paws climbed up the bed, a warm body lying against my stomach.
I ran my fingers through Nacho's fur and got comfortable, curling my body around him. He hadn't warmed up to Gabriel yet but would stand in the doorway of his room and swish his tail. After a few more minutes, I heard the bathroom door shut and I sighed quietly. Dimitri was here.
The bathroom door opened again after a few minutes and there were soft footfalls down the hall before they stopped. Dimitri stilled for a moment before coming back down the hall. I heard him set his duffle bag down inside my door and then he lifted the blankets behind me.
He climbed in gently and laid down behind me, his hand smoothing out the duvet once he was settled. I rolled a little to let him know I was awake and he moved closer.
"I didn't wake you, did I?"
"No. Emily was projecting and was standing in the doorway. How come you didn't go to your room?"
"Buckley," Dimitri said tiredly and I snorted. Buckley loved to sleep in Dimitri's room when he wasn't there, and Buckley was a large dog. Irish Setters were big, and he loved to cuddle. But even if Dimitri tried to get into bed, Buckley would have just kicked him.
"He's slept in there every night this week," I said through a yawn.
"I'm not surprised," Dimitri said and rested his arm over my waist, "Is that okay?"
I smiled. "It's fine," I whispered, resting my hand against Nacho as I started to fall back asleep.
"How do all of you fit?"
I flinched awake and grunted, rolling onto my other side and bumping into Dimitri. As I rolled, I understood what Gabriel meant. I looked down and saw Buckley squished between our legs, while Nacho was stretched out across the top of my pillow.
"Carefully," I said groggily as I climbed out of bed, shushing both Buckley and Nacho so they didn't wake Dimitri. I smiled as I glanced at him and made my way around the bed, pulling the curtain closed so Dimitri could sleep longer.
"I didn't hear him come in," Gabriel said as we walked down the stairs.
"Shocking you didn't hear it over the sound of you cutting wood," I teased, "But it's been almost two weeks since your last phase. You've been sleeping a lot. You probably have another one coming."
Gabriel nodded and gripped the railing as he slid on the stairs. I frowned and bit my lip. He was definitely close to a phase. He usually wasn't clumsy, but it happened when he was close to one.
I went for the kettle and filled it with water before setting it on the stove.
"I was visited by Amelia again," I said as I propped my head up on my elbows against the island.
"Oh?" Gabriel asked as he yawned, "Did she say anything?"
Amelia was a seer before she died a few years ago. It was an aneurysm, and when she died, her abilities didn't leave her. Every once in a while, she'll wake me to tell me her visions. They usually didn't make sense, but there were a few that mattered to us.
"She talked about Michael," I said quietly, looking at him with a worried expression.
"What about him?"
"He's being bullied at school," I said quietly, mindful that anyone could walk into the kitchen.
"Did she say why?"
I shook my head. "No. But, it'll escalate."
Gabriel leaned against the opposite counter and bit his lip, his eyes moving towards the brewing coffee pot when the timer started.
"We have to tell Sheila and Martin."
"Of course we do," I said, "But I don't want to worry Michael."
"How bad is the escalation?"
"He comes home with a black eye."
Gabriel shook his head and his eyes flicked towards to hall when I heard someone come down the stairs. Emily came around the corner and smiled at us as she went towards the coffee pot, taking two mugs down and putting them on the counter.
"So, are we going to kick some kid's ass, or are we going to let the parentals deal with it? Because out of all of us, Rose could blend in as a minor," Emily asked as she pulled herself up to sit on the counter.
I raised my brow at her but she smiled.
"I was still in astral form when Amelia visited you. It's kinda trippy," she said with a smile.
"It is trippy for me too. And I think we should let the parents deal with it," I said with a smirk, standing up with the kettle boiled. I walked to the kettle and took it off the stove when I heard more footsteps in the hall.
"Why do the three of you all look so guilty?" Sheila teased as they came into the kitchen. We looked at each other, silently asking who was going to be the one to tell them. I forced a face and cleared my throat.
I chewed on my thumbnail as my foot bounced. Tilda sat in her chair with her notepad balanced on her knees. I preferred my sessions with Tilda instead of Deidre, but I still felt like I was going to bounce right out of my skin.
"You've been on edge."
"I'm always on edge."
"More so than normal. And that with all of the protections you've put up around the house, I'm worried. What's going on?"
I shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing. Just living a life with seeing the dead on the daily," I brushed.
Tilda raised her brows at me.
"Gabriel mentioned you saw something during his last phase."
"I thought sessions were confidential."
"They are, but your mate ratted you out. What did you see that has you so freaked out?"
I huffed and uncrossed my legs, leaning forward on my knees as I rubbed my hands over my face.
"Honestly? I have no fucking idea," I said, "But it scared the living shit out of me. It felt like it was staring into my soul. And the energy coming off of it…Tilly, I've never felt that before."
"Describe it to me," she said gently. I rubbed my face again and explained in detail what I saw. As I spoke she nodded, making notes on her paper as I went.
"How tall would you say it was?"
"Taller than Dimitri," I said immediately.
"You're sure?"
"Even crouched down like that, it was almost as tall as me," I said. She nodded and tapped her finger against her paper.
"Have you spoken to Jerry to see if he knows?"
"He's on vacation. Even the man deserves a break," I said as I leaned back on the couch, chewing on my nail again, "I just can't shake the feeling. I'm not sleeping, I feel nauseous. I feel like there is always something just in my peripheral."
"Have you spoken to anyone else in the house about what you saw?"
I shook my head. Gabriel had to practically pull it from me. Dimitri knew that I was restless and agitated, but let the topic go when I snapped at him unintentionally. I knew that he and Gabriel exchanged glances afterwards, but I wasn't sure I wanted to share it. I didn't want to freak anyone else out. Gabriel didn't see anything, just sensed something was out there.
"For now, let's not tell the others. It could simply be a ghost that isn't strong enough to fully form. But, I want you to try and decompress. The stress and anxiety are not good," Tilda said and I nodded. Easier said than done, but I knew what she meant.