The next day, Kevin was in the small room of the dungeon, talking to Ian.
“He made sure I would never live if I spoke his name,” Ian said. “If I tell you, my brother & I are both dead within seconds.”
“Why is he doing this?” Kevin asked.
“He said it was a matter of honor. I know nothing more than that!”
“Why did he choose you to come after me & my family?”
“Because I was angry with you – even after all this time. I wouldn’t let her death go unavenged! I know now that I was wrong. I’m sorry,” Ian said, tears forming in his eyes. “Kevin, please, let me die! I can’t go on anymore; I don’t want to. Just be prepared. I don’t know what he plans on doing. All I know is that when I left the other day, there were about 20 new vampires at his house. I overheard something about ‘the tide turning’ in his favor at last.”
“A name, Ian. Please! I need to know who & what to expect! I forgive you for the pain you caused us. You were following orders & acting on your own pain & anger. Now please, Ian! A name,” Kevin asked.
“Jacob McAlester,” Ian said with a sigh.
“Thank you, my brother,” Kevin said as he got up & left the room.
“You are welcome…my brother,” Ian said.
Just as Kevin made it to the door, he heard Ian scream & turned to face him. The explosion sent Kevin flying through the air, slamming him into the wall 10 feet away.
“KEVIN!” Sammie screamed.
She & Abigail had walked downstairs to see if Kevin needed any help with Ian. They heard the scream & saw Kevin fly through the air from the force of the explosion, which also knocked the 2 women down. They scrambled up & ran to see if they could help.
Sammie ran to Kevin to check on him, while Abby checked the room. The only sign that Ian had even been in the room were his clothes, burned only slightly from his ‘spontaneous combustion’.
“Kevin, what happened?” Sammie asked as Kevin sat up.
“I have a name & explanation. I need everyone in the library – NOW! We may not have much time!” Kevin said, standing with the help of Abigail & Sammie.
***
In the dark library of the London manor, the sound of an evil chuckle could be heard.
“So, Ravenwolf, you now know about me. We will see how you deal with my wrath. My revenge will be sweet. It will be I who taste victory this time.”
Jacob turned to the newest of his minions. “Go & gather the others. I need to talk to all of you.”
“Yes, M’lord,” the woman said, leaving the room to gather her comrades.
***
“I have a feeling they will strike soon. We need to all stay as close as possible. I don’t know how many there will be; Ian said there may be about 20, but that was old information from almost a week ago. Abby, Paul & Sammie have elemental abilities that will keep some away; Abby & Paul with Fire, Sammie with Wind. We will also have Terra to help if she is needed. We also have the ability to shapeshift,” Kevin was explaining.
Breeze had been listening, but noticed a change outside. She looked over at the tall grandfather clock against the far wall, then glanced back outside.
Something definitely wasn’t right & she spoke up. “Kevin, something’s wrong.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Look outside. It’s too early to be this dark & the sky looks weird.”
Kevin turned & looked out the window. Breeze was right. It shouldn’t be this dark this early. The sky had taken on an odd shade of green & black; he knew he didn’t have a lot of time to give them the explanation they were wanting. “Damn,” he muttered.
“You said something about a blood feud between you & Jacob. What is that about?” Nickolas asked.
“I lived near the border of Scotland & England. His clan was on the border, also & there were many times when occasional border raids took place. Well, one time a raid got out of control & a few men on both sides were killed – which led to the feud. He made the decision to challenge me to a battle. A few of my men snuck behind enemy lines & found the camp while most of the men were on the front lines. They torched the tents without checking them. Unfortunately, Jacob had taken his wife with him instead of leaving her at home. When Jacob’s tent was torched, she ran outside & my men killed her, not realizing that it was a woman – until too late.” Kevin sighed, taking a deep breath before continuing.
“Jacob has thought all this time that I ordered it & he never listened to reason. I even tried to convince him by putting my own men to death for their crime. Jacob was so full of hatred & mindless with grief, he didn’t care. Shortly thereafter, I lost my own wife & was killed, coming back as an immortal. Jacob has no respect for life – his or anyone else’s. He will only be satisfied once I & my loved ones – or he himself – are dead.”
No sooner than Kevin finished, the wind began to howl & the sky went black.
