age and Cristian arrived at JFK airport and prepared to get their luggage. They decided when the plane landed that they would stay at his loft in Greenwich Village while he took the portrait back to the gallery. Using his newly acquired powers of illusion, they were able to walk through the terminal unnoticed, and hailed a taxi.
“I know you wanted to go to Egypt,” Cristian said in reference to his coronation. “Once this is taken care of, we can go and do what we planned.” “I know, Cristian,” Sage said. “I’m not upset that we had to put those plans on hold.” She felt a chill within her of a lingering sense of dread since their return that she would not only have to face Rafael wherever he was but also Pedro whose presence was strong in her mind.
They stepped out of the taxi and walked inside the building. Cristian was amused when the guard didn’t notice their presence as they walked past him and into the elevator. “You’re enjoying this a bit too much,” Sage said halfheartedly. When the elevator cage opened, he stepped inside his loft, surprised to find his parents waiting for him. “Mom, Dad,” he said astonished. “Thank God,” his father said. “We were worried about you, Son,” his mother said. “How did that dent get in the wall?” she asked. “An accident,” he said softly. “Haven’t you seen the news?” she asked. “I have,” Cristian said while taking Sage’s hand as she stepped out of the elevator. Upon seeing her, his parents were stunned, their mouths dropped in awe. “This is she,” his father said after a long silence. “Your painting in the flesh.” “This is Sage,” Cristian said. “Hello,” she said politely. “You’re the royal Cristian told us about,” his mother said, attempting to curtsy. “Please, there’s no need to curtsy,” she said smiling. She noticed in the fireplace remnants of the burnt sketches.
“We had to come back after we saw the news about the missing painting and Robert,” his father said. “That’s why I came back,” Cristian said. “The portrait isn’t missing. It’s with me.” “But how?” his mother asked. “It’s complicated,” Cristian said. “Well, praise Jesus that you’re alright,” she said, clasping her hands together. Both Cristian and Sage flinched at her invocation. His mother frowned at their reaction looking at the both of them. She noticed as she stared intently at Sage that her eyes seemed to change like a feline. Her expression changed from perplexed to hot rage. “What have you done?” she said, her voice thundering. “Jillian,” his father said to her, puzzled by the change in her temperament. “Mother,” Cristian murmured, squeezing Sage’s hand. “You were raised Catholic and you turned from your Christian upbringing for that new age mess with the chants and breathing,” she spat. “I knew something happened when you changed your hair color.” “Jillian!” his father said, alarmed. She stared steely-eyed at Sage. “You’re evil,” she said, stalking toward her. Sage stood motionless, not uttering a word. “Stop it, Mother” Cristian yelled, reaching for her arm, glimpsing the crucifix hanging on her neck. He stumbled back, repelled by it. His father’s eyes widened.
“What has happened to you, Cristian?” his father said, distressed. “He’s damned his soul,” his mother said, looking at him with disappointment. “How can you do this to yourself?” she said. “How can you let yourself be entangled,” she pointed at Sage, “with that?” “You sound like a bigot, mother,” Cristian rebuked. “You know I am no racist,” she roared. “Don’t you dare reproach me!” “There’s an evil in her,” she looked at him, “and in you.” Cristian’s shoulders slumped, pained by her stinging words. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” he said firmly. She looked at him with tears in her eyes. “May God have mercy on your soul.” She grabbed his stricken father’s arm and they got on the elevator. Cristian kept his back turned toward them as the cage closed with a slam. Sage exhaled short breaths when Cristian turned to face her. His eyes about to spill over like a waterfall with tears. “I knew my mother was pious, but I never thought she’d react like that. She’s wrong about you,” he said. “No, Cristian,” Sage said remorsefully. “She’s right. I am evil.”
Anna and Daniel walked through the town under the cover of darkness until they reached The River Churnet. She sighed. “I loved to play here,” she said. “When my parents died, I came here to live with a distant relative, but I could tell that she was weary of me. Therefore, I would come here and live in my imaginary world.” She looked at him. “There’s a legend in town of the Mermaid Pool. The legend is that the pool is bottomless and a mermaid appears by the lake. Those who see her she draws to their deaths.” “Interesting,” Daniel said, intrigued. “I wanted to try to catch a glimpse of the mermaid but never did,” she said. “Why did you leave this town?” he asked. “His name was Gabriel,” she said, staring into the river. “He was a magician or a conjurer. He arrived in town from seemingly nowhere. It was as if he just appeared. He had black hair down to his waist, ivory skin like the moon, and he always wore a long black robe. I was intrigued by his power. At the things he could do. You could say I was entranced.” Daniel watched Anna’s eyes dance excitedly as she relived those memories of long ago. “He could vanish. He could transform into a tiger. He could restore a smashed piece of glass back to its original state. He could move objects. I was completely besotted with him and wanted to know what the secret to his power was. He told me that conjurers do not reveal their secrets.”
They sat down in the grass. “Rumors were swirling that he practiced black magic,” she continued. “When the rumors found his ears, he left and I went with him. I was in love and seeking adventure, so I went with him and the gypsies. We went to Manchester where his legend grew. One night after his show, I snuck out and followed him. I watched him at the pub sink his fangs into a fanatic and drink her blood. He saw me and I fled back to my room. I was terrified yet aroused by what I had seen. He found me hidden under the blankets in my room and admitted that he was a vampire and I now knew his secret. I wanted to become a vampire as well. I begged him to turn me. He finally relented and I became his pupil,” she smiled, “then his lover. I found out the gypsies that traveled with him were actually part of his coven and that they all slept in coffins. He told me briefly about the vampire king and queen and the young princess in Egypt, but I thought little of it. We were happy for many years. That all ended the night hunters found us. I can still see the terror in their eyes as the stakes were driven into their hearts and hear the screams as the vampires were being slaughtered,” she said trembling. “Gabriel and I were able to make it out but,” she took a deep breath, “he turned around and went back. The last thing he said to me was that if he did not come back out to go on without him. I waited for several minutes that seemed like an eternity, and he never came out. I fled to Egypt seeking the vampire king and queen that Gabriel told me about, but they were gone. I didn’t dare go back to England after what had happened, and so I waited. Then I saw her.” “Queen V,” Daniel said solemnly. “She looked so lost,” she said staring afar. “Her dress was in tatters and she looked shell-shocked. Hunters had killed her parents and she was now queen. That’s how I met Sage,” Anna said.
They sat in silence listening to the chirp of crickets in the air. “Why didn’t you want to return to Barbados?” she asked suddenly. “Because I have nothing to go back to,” Daniel said softly. “My parents were captured by slave traders and I never saw them again. The day I escaped, I was able to free myself from the shackles, and I helped to unbind my cousin—I thought he was still behind me when I got off the ship. “But when I turned around, he wasn’t there. Time was against me and I had to flee, so I was unable to go back. I’ve felt guilty for leaving him behind. That last image of his frightened face haunts my mind.” “I’ve felt guilty for not going back for Gabriel,” Anna said. “I suppose it can be called survivor’s guilt.” Daniel silently nodded his head blinking back the tears. They clasped each other’s hands.
Lisa waited until John was fast asleep, turning down the volume of the radio when she quietly left their room. When she was sure that no one could see her, she flew to the cemetery to visit her mother’s grave. She knelt down at the headstone that had the simple inscription of the name ‘Rose Gregory.’ She remembered when she returned to town a year after she ran away that she came home to an empty house. Terrified for her mother, she asked the next-door neighbor what had happened, and they told her that her mother had died a month after she had left, and her father hastily moved out and left town. She thought prematurely that her father was to blame, but she learned that her mother’s heart gave out. Her body was discovered in Lisa’s room holding one of her baby dresses. A guilt-ridden Lisa felt that her mother had lost hope when she left and her reason for living. “I’m sorry, Momma,” she cried with a heavy heart looking up toward the stars. “I’m sorry I didn’t take you with me.” She lay down on the grass curled up in the fetal position begging her mother to forgive her for abandoning her.
Christopher and Jillian sat in silence on the ride to their Long Island home. She turned to say something to him, but he turned his head to stare out the window. She sighed, opening her purse to stare at the business card that she found on Cristian’s desk at his loft. “Maybe this Rafael Pearson can help to save my son,” she thought tucking it back inside her purse.