The next couple of hours were a blur of panic and concern for Ellie. She’d desperately wanted to follow Jack out into the square and stand next to him to fight at his side. Kara insisted that Ellie being out in the open was too risky however. All it would take was one Order member to spot her, and Ellie’s life could potentially be over.

As she heard the storm roll in overhead there was much confusion on the other vampire’s faces. Eyes flicked about in worry. Voices murmured with whispering question. Kara stood beside Ellie all the while, still and resolute. A minute later the first flashes came outside, and the deafening roar of thunder cracked through the sky.

“Where did this storm come from?” Malachi cried while looking about the room. “It could interfere with our signal jam!”

“It won’t,” Kara said calmly. “The Order are defeated. Rourke, Malachi, head into the square and confirm it for me.”

Ellie stood there feeling numb, staring out through the shattered doors that Jack had broken only minutes before. A sharp gale carried sheets of rain part way inside. Rourke and Malachi ran outside to confirm what Ellie and Kara already knew. She wanted to be outside, she wanted to be with him. She’d seen his powers once before. It didn’t look like a pleasant thing.

Moments later Malachi was back at the door, panting heavily. “They’re all dead! The hostages are fine! Jack is collapsed on the floor, but he’s alive. What the hell happened out there?!”

“Never mind that now,” Kara said sagely. “Assemble a team and sweep through the rest of the village before sunrise. We need to secure the perimeter immediately and check there are no more soldiers hiding in the town. We will start repairing the wall tomorrow and send scouting teams out into the forest to make sure there are no more Order members. Escort Jack to the infirmary to rest and take Ellie with you. Inform the doctor that the patient is shadow cursed.”

Toshi, one of Kara’s guards, approached the elder and bowed slightly. “What about her?” he asked, nodding at Monica Valentine who was still restrained behind the bar.

Kara turned and inspected the vampire silently. “Escort her to the cells. She made an attack on one of the lost daughters and cannot be trusted. She jeopardized the prophecy.”

“I thought she was lying!” Monica screamed while struggling against the grip of two guards. They carried her out of the room quickly. Kara faced Ellie once more.

“You know that he is all right child?” she asked.

Ellie gave an uncertain nod. “Yes, but I’d still like to be next to him. His power is dangerous to his mind. I need to be there when he wakes up, or he might not remember…”

The elder nodded. “I understand. Come, we will go to the infirmary now and you can be there when he wakes up. From now a team of guards will be assigned to protect you at all times. Your secret is out now, and your safety is of utmost importance.”

They stepped out into the storm, escorted on all sides by a dozen of Kara’s guard. Wind howled, rain fell in horizontal sheets. Ellie might have normally kept her head down in such abhorrent weather, but right now all she wanted was to see Jack. She walked on tiptoes to peer over the wall of guards escorting her. There was a brief glimpse of the square but no Jack. Rourke must have already taken him.

On the east side of the square she saw the giant hole that had been blown in the village’s surrounding wall. Large chunks of unearthed stone lay scattered about the square. A good third of the village’s twee buildings had suffered some sort of damage. Tiles and timber were blown apart, holes were blasted through rooftops.

“We will have to rebuild,” Kara said as they walked across the square to the infirmary, noting Ellie’s concerned gaze. “It is nothing we haven’t faced before. It will give my people something to do, and that will keep them happy.”

“I can’t help but feel this is all my fault,” Ellie stammered back.

“Nonsense. The attack would have happened whether you were here or not. The difference however is the help you provided. Without yourself and Jack I doubt we would have fought the Order off successfully. Come, the infirmary is just ahead.”

Droves of injured vampires made up the packed hallways of the bustling infirmary. The Order’s attack had not only damaged the buildings in the village, but also affected many of the regulars that lived here. Kara’s guard escorted Ellie through the hallways quickly, but it was impossible to ignore the sights and sounds of a village almost brought to its knees.

They took an elevator up to the fourth floor. It was quieter up here, but there were still a lot of people about. They approached a reception and stopped. The doctor standing there took one look at Kara’s guard and opened his eyes in surprise. “Mistress Kara! Can I help you?”

“We are here to see the vampire that was just brought in. The shadow cursed.”

“O-Of course!” he stammered, placing a clipboard down on the side next to him. “Follow me!” He led them down the hall to a room at the end. Kara had her guards stand sentry in the waiting room outside. Ellie hurried after the doctor on quick feet. A window outside Jack’s room showed him sleeping on a bed. Wires and tubes led in and out of his body.

“Jack!” She ran for the door but was held back by one of Kara’s guards. Squirming, she tried to free herself. “Let me go! I need to see him!”

“Easy child,” Kara said as she came to stand next to Ellie at the window. “Take a look at your mate as he lies on the bed. Do you notice anything unusual?”

The only unusual thing Ellie noticed was a sudden urge to strike out and hurt everyone that was keeping her from Jack. After a few more moments of fruitless struggling she eased off and looked through the window to see Jack sleeping on the bed. He was restrained. She turned her head to look at Kara. “You’ve chained him up, why?”

“A precautionary measure. Tell me, you said you saw him display this power once before. Were you there when he woke up after?”

“Well, no. But what does that matter?”

The elder gazed upon her with kind eyes. “The shadow curse is a dreadful thing. It can take hold of one’s mind and make it act in the most awful way. A grandson of mine bore the same curse, and I watched it take his mind and turn it into darkness.”

Ellie saw the hurt in Kara’s eyes. “What do you mean?”

“He bore the same curse as Jack. A demon possessed his body. He didn’t control storms as Jack does, his curse was tied with the cycles of the moon. When a full moon came the demon took over his body. He found himself locked in a frenzy of rage and violence. He would always return to his normal self upon wakening, but one time he did not. There was a leftover of the demon’s power. He woke in a rage and nearly killed me.”

“You think that could happen with Jack?” Ellie asked, looking through the window at her sleeping mate.

Kara nodded. “I am not sure, but it is a possibility. Until he is awake we will take precaution. Jack’s darkness could fill the room with the force of his lethal magic, I cannot risk placing a lost daughter in front of that energy.”

“No,” Ellie said and shook her head in desperation. “Please. I need to be there when he wakes up! I need to be there for him!” She surged forward to escape the guard’s grasp again, but it was little against his strength.

“I know this hurts right now child, but it is for your own safety. We will wait in the room across the hall. There is a doctor stationed in the room with Jack. Once he wakes and we know it is safe you can see him at once. I promise.”

Her tired cries and screams echoed down the hallways as the guards pulled Ellie back from the window. All she wanted to do was fight. All she wanted was to be by his side. As they pulled her back she kept her eyes locked on his window, watching as it grew smaller with each passing second. Tears streamed down her cheeks, fatigue burned across her body.

Her heart ached for him. Her soul turned with fire. They turned around the corner and the window slipped out of sight. The fight left her body and she dropped her head to her chest, sobbing as her feet slid across the polished floor. She was done.

* * *

Dreams of snow and fire consumed Ellie. She ran along endless stone corridors, twisted down spiraling staircases and sprinted across large stone rooms that were ice cold from years of abandon. This was her childhood home, this was the place she had known a long time ago before her life changed forever. She found herself standing on a balcony looking over an ice-capped mountain range. The snowy tundra was beautiful, stirring up senses inside of her that had long remained forgotten. Breath floated from her lips as steam. A voice whispered behind her.

This is where he will take you. This is where he will kill you.

Turning, she looked back into the room behind. Cold forced her to shiver. She stepped into a long-abandoned bedroom and looked at the brunette girl standing just across from her. She couldn’t say how, but she knew this woman was the pigtailed girl she knew as a child.

“What did you say?”

He will bring you here. She said again, speaking without moving her lips. He will bring you here and kill you. He will trick you. You have to remember it’s not him. Your love is for both minds of his minds. Not the one that brings you here.

Ellie shook her head. “Who are you?”

You don’t remember? I am your sister.

An image flashed in Ellie’s eyes of a spiral birthmark, scored at the bottom of the girl’s back, just as there was on her back. “You’re… Claire?” she said.

The brunette girl smiled, with kindness sparkling in her eyes. A gust of wind swept into the room from the balcony behind Ellie and the scene blew away like dust. When she opened her eyes she found herself standing in a long and open hall. Thick dust settled on forgotten furniture. Drifts of snow sat in an open window that had been left for decades. Cobwebs covered everything.

She was in a chair by a dying fire, sat across from a girl with autumn-red hair. The girl looked back at her with glistening green eyes. Ellie recognized her too as her childhood friend. She was the same girl that had gone with her to live with the York vampires.

It’s been a long-time sister. The girl said in a kind voice. She too spoke without moving her lips.

“What is this?” Ellie asked, her voice trembled slightly with fear and confusion.

A vision. A dream to help you remember. A dream to warn you. He will bring you here to kill you.

Ellie saw another spiral flash before her eyes. The girl with the red hair was the third sister. The other lost daughter. “Who are you?” she asked in desperation. She was the one that remained, the one that was still hidden.

You know who I am, she answered cryptically.

“But, where are you? Why can’t we find you?” Claire was accounted for, she was the one to start the prophecy. Ellie had embraced her path, though it had taken long enough. But this girl, the third one. She knew nothing of her, she sensed she was a long way from being found.

I am remaining hidden. I don’t want to be found. I have… more pressing things to address.

More pressing? Than the prophecy? Ellie wanted to jump out of the chair and grab the girl by her wrist. What was she thinking?

Have no fears. It will all come together in time. All you have to do is remember. He will bring you here, but he is not the one you love. Let your heart guide you, or you will die.

A gust of wind came down the fire and extinguished the twinkling coals. The scene began to crumble away once more. Ellie jumped up from the chair, desperate to ask more of the girl. “Wait!” she said. “Don’t go! I need your help! We need to find each other!”

All in time… the voices answered back. The old room around Ellie disappeared into endless darkness and she felt herself falling. She reached out and clawed at the air in a desperate attempt to grab onto anything. But there was only darkness.

Ellie jolted awake in the hospital waiting room, gasping loudly as she sat up straight in the uncomfortable chair. The guards around her jumped with her surprise awakening. Looking around she remembered where she was. Jack. She stood from the hard-plastic chair, her heart racing with adrenaline from her mysterious dream. She had no idea how long she’d been asleep, but she was going to see her mate. It had been long enough.

“Morning miss,” one of the guards said as she walked across the waiting room toward Jack. “I’m very sorry to make you wait but we’re are under strict instructions from—”

“Get your hands off me!” Ellie shouted while brushing past the guard with ease. She thundered down the hallway on determined feet, with the man jogging after her. He stuck out a hand to grab her wrist and she spun around in wrath. “I am a daughter of the prophecy and you will release me this moment!”

Terror flooded the guard’s eyes and he let go of Ellie immediately. He stepped back and nodded submissively at her order. “Yes Miss! Sorry Miss!”

Ellie felt a little bad for reprimanding the guard like that. The man was only doing his job, but she had bigger things to worry about. She rounded the corner and came into the hall that led to Jack’s room. She saw the window by his door just ahead. Kara was stood outside talking with the doctor from before. The elder looked down the hall at once and saw Ellie.

“Don’t try to stop me!” Ellie roared as she came closer.

An unexpected smile crossed the elder’s face. “I doubt I could if I wanted to. We were just coming to wake you in fact. Jack is awake, and his powers have subsided for now. It is safe to see him.”

Ellie pushed her way into the room and paused momentarily to see Jack sat upright in his bed, sipping blood through a long straw. Breath left her as her heart fluttered. Tears of relief brimmed in her eyes. “…Jack!”

He looked back at her with his twinkling reds and flashed that mischievous smile. “Hey cupcake. Where you been?”

She bounded across to his bed and threw her arms around him, causing him to wince and laugh as he squeezed her back. She squeezed him tight, tears flowing down her face. He was safe.

“Easy there darling,” Jack laughed as they parted. Ellie sat beside him on the bed, her hand wrapped tight in his. “I’m still a little tender from the fight.”

“You remember?” she gasped.

“Of course I do. That crazy bitch Monica put me in the arena against three vampires. How could I forget that?”

Ellie’s heart stopped in her chest. She stared into his eyes and gasped. Had he blanked again? Had all these weeks together been lost to the darkness once more? Gone like dust to the wind? Teasing lines of laughter creased at the corners of Jack’s eyes as he burst into laughter.

“Son of a bitch!” Ellie said while slapping him lightly on the shoulder.

Jack’s laughter mellowed into a light cough. “Ow! Couldn’t resist! Sorry!”

Kara entered the room with the doctor beside her. “It seems your memory is okay then Jack. That is very promising.”

Jack gave a weak nod and sat up straight in the bed. “Seems that way. You might have to test me on a few things, but I reckon it’s all still there.”

Ellie could have cried with relief. She’d been consumed with worry and dread with the idea that Jack would wake up and not know who she was.

“It’s very encouraging,” Kara said. “It shows to me that Ellie is in indeed having a very positive impact on your memory. I’m not sure we can ever remove the shadow curse from your soul, but with Ellie by your side that might not be necessary.”

“What about Wraith?” Ellie asked, looking at Jack. “Can you hear him?”

Jack gave another weak nod and took a sip from his straw. “He was pretty loud when I was channeling the storm. I can still hear him now in the back of my mind, but I feel like I’ve got more control over him this time. He wants out. He wanted to take control of my body when I woke up, but I didn’t let him.”

“That is most excellent,” Kara said with a smile. “Very positive.”

“How are the hostages?” Jack asked. “What happened with the village?”

“Your attack was a complete success and the hostages all survived,” Kara said. “I had my guards construct an emergency patch on the wall before sunrise. When the sun sets we will send teams out into the woods and make sure there are no more Order members in hiding.”

“Sounds like a good plan. I’d like to help out as soon as I can.”

The doctor spoke up at this point. “It’s important you get rest for now, but you will be back on your feet in no time, I’m sure. It is not a positive thing for a body to handle the strain of lightning, but it seems there were no real adverse effects with you. You might just need a few days to recover.”

“We’ll leave you two alone for now,” Kara said with a gentle nod. “I will come back in a short while to see you again. Your secret is out now and everyone in the village knows about your involvement with the prophecy. We will have to make a plan for things going forward. Life might be different for you now.”

Ellie and Jack both had to laugh. “Fuck,” Jack said. “Life has been different for quite a while Kara. I think Ellie and I can both attest to that.”

Ellie couldn’t help but smile as she squeezed Jack’s hand tight and dropped her head against his shoulder. Life had been very different recently, but she didn’t mind. She was happy now, and nothing would change that.

* * *

Being cooped up in hospital wasn’t exactly Jack’s idea of a good time, but he was happy enough to sit there for a few days and let his body recuperate. His latest conflict with the Order might not have affected his mind that much, but his body seemed to have taken the brunt of the after effects. Every muscle felt tense, every movement had an uncomfortable stiffness to it. It took a day or two just to find the strength to stand up and walk again.

With Ellie by his side he didn’t spend too much time focusing on the pain. The discomfort was worth it enough for the time they were spending together. Though they were both enjoying their time in Skarvast their jobs kept them apart in the week. If the vampire had it his way they’d be locked in a room together at all times. That would be very ideal.

“But you need to rest!” Ellie protested, half giggling as Jack threw the covers over her.

“I’ve done enough resting. I need to taste my girl.”

“But what if someone comes in!”

“It’s the middle of the day, everyone’s asleep. If someone comes in, then it’s a lesson to knock.”

She fast gave up her protests as his lips found hers, and he fast forgot about the aches and pains that had kept him bed bound these last few days. Sex was a slight struggle in his current state, but there was a raging fire inside of him pushing his libido forward, and he cared little about the pain.

The heat built in the room as they writhed under the covers like lovestruck teenagers. He wriggled Ellie out of her clothes and she flipped herself on top of him, kissing him passionately and grinding her wetness against him. Within a minute he was inside of her, and everything was right with the world again.

She placed her palms on his wide chest and rolled her hips up and down his shaft, her eyes burning into his with deep intensity. The only sound in the room came from the slick of her arousal and the short hot panting of their breath. He wrapped his hands around her waist and pumped up into her, his balls tightening as he threatened to explode.

The orgasm took her by surprise, and she had to bury her head in the pillow underneath Jack to keep herself from screaming out loud. He smiled to himself as he curled his hand around her back and he burst while buried deep inside of her, their bodies twitching and convulsing as they came together.

They woke sometime later together, and Ellie jumped up from the bed in horror, hoping that no one had come to check on them in the night. Jack laughed it off and said it wasn’t a problem. She gave him a rather amusing lecture about him being a bad influence on her. He grabbed her tight and kissed her all over again, stealing the words right from her mouth. Just being with her was the most invigorating thing in the world, and he never wanted it to stop.

“What was that for?” Ellie asked in a half-daze as he pulled away from her.

“I wanted to kiss you,” he said simply. “Can’t I do that?”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You can. That just felt… different, it was more intense.”

Maybe because I just realized that I love you?

“I was just trying to shut you up,” Jack joked. “Guess it worked.”

Ellie gave him another playful slap and climbed off the bed. “Let’s shower before night rolls around again. Natalie and Rourke are coming to visit for the first time since the whole Order ordeal. I can’t sit here and talk to them while stinking of sex.”

“But I love that smell on you,” Jack said, wincing as Ellie helped him out of bed and towards the shower.

“Don’t worry big boy, I’m sure you’ll have it all over me again in no time at all.”

Rourke and Natalie arrived shortly after, bearing gifts and cards from some of the other vampires in the village. They both took a seat around Jack’s bed.

“These are all for me?” Jack asked as he thumbed through the cards. He looked up at the visiting couple. “I’m starting to feel like a real celebrity around here.”

“People are grateful for what you did,” Rourke said. “What you both did. I have to admit Ellie, I was a little shocked when you did the big reveal about being a vampire hunter—”

“Ex-vampire hunter,” Natalie corrected.

“Of course, ex-vampire hunter. I half thought I was going to see you die after that. You topped it of course with all this prophecy business…”

“I knew there was something else going on with you two!” Natalie said, almost bouncing out of her seat.

Ellie laughed beside Jack. “I had started to suspect you were on to something.”

“Is that why you’re heading north?” Natalie asked. “Does it have something to do with the prophecy?”

Jack and Ellie both stared at each other, not really sure what the answer to that question was. Jack looked back at Natalie. “We’re not sure to be honest, it’s not as black and white as you’d expect it to be.”

Natalie laughed and punched Rourke in the arm. “Sounds about right. Nothing is ever black and white with vampires. Complicated bastards. Don’t know why I bother so much.”

“Maybe because I saved your life that one time?” Rourke said.

“That might have slipped my mind,” Natalie said with a shrug.

“You’ll be pleased to know the village is getting back to its old self,” Rourke said. “We’ve nearly repaired the walls and we’ve had scouting teams out in the woods every day since the attack. There are no signs of the Order or the Circle. Your storm thing must have put the fear of god into them. I’ve never met a shadow cursed vampire before. Scary stuff.”

“Inspiring stuff,” Natalie said. “Kara was worried we might bring more trouble upon ourselves after you and Ellie ousted yourselves, but everyone is rallying around you in support. To think one of the lost daughters was under my nose this whole time! Unbelievable!”

Jack found comfort in the fact that the villagers were on their side. This last year the curse inside him had pushed him from society and left him as a loner walking on the fringe. Amnesia made it impossible to keep friends, and his strange powers drove away anyone they didn’t kill. It pushed a fresh resurgence of gratitude through him at having Ellie by his side. None of this would have been possible without her.

“People are hopeful then?” Ellie asked.

“Damn right they’re hopeful!” Rourke said enthusiastically. “I can appreciate you two might feel out of the loop having been up here for the last few days, but the mood on the streets is good.”

“Very good,” Natalie interrupted. “Black Fang’s resurgence brought everyone down, but this recent stand off against the Order has given people hope again. Ellie’s presence here has all the women excited and everyone feels safer now that you’ve revealed your powers Jack.”

Natalie and Rourke’s good news left Jack and Ellie feeling upbeat. It was comforting to know that the vampires of Skarvast were rallying around them in support, and it felt good knowing that people found comfort in Jack and Ellie being there.

By the fifth day Jack was back to feeling his normal self and the doctors had cleared him for release back into the village. Before he left the hospital, Kara came to visit one last time to chat with them both in private.

“You’re looking much better,” the elderly woman marveled as Jack walked about the room gingerly, packing up his stuff.

“I feel better,” Jack said. “Keen to get back to it.” It. Whatever that was. Working with Garret again. Waiting until the pass thawed. When would that be done? He felt that image inside of him, that picture of frozen stone. It was calling to him again. Was it time to move on? Was it time to leave Skarvast behind?

“Pass ain’t thawed yet,” Kara answered, reading his thoughts. “Few more weeks and it’ll be clear though. I thought I’d come and have a quick chat with you both to let you know how things are going to be from here on out.”

Kara laid out the terms for them staying in Skarvast now that the villagers knew who Jack and Ellie really were. Most things were to stay the same. They could keep their jobs and still stay in their cottage at the end of the street, but there would always be an assignment of guards nearby incase anything went wrong. “Two teams of four. They’ll follow each of you around at a safe distance.”

Both Jack and Ellie opened their mouths to protest but she spoke again before they could. “No point in telling me you’re against it. It’s happening whether you like it or not. Take it from someone that has had a guard detail much longer than she’s wanted one: Most of the time you forget they’re there anyway.”

“You’re in charge here,” Jack said, laughing to himself. “Why not forgo the guard detail if you don’t want one?”

“Tried it once. Villagers ended up following me around everywhere anyway and ruining my day. At least the guards keep quiet. They won’t enter your house unless you want them to, so it’s not like you don’t have privacy. This is just to keep you safe. I understand you don’t want to stay here forever, and that’s fine. If the prophecy wants you to move, then you’ve got to follow it. While you stay here though I’ll be damned if any more harm comes to either of you. You’re in my house, and I’m not going down in history as the vampire that helped drop the ball on the prophecy!”

And with that Jack and Ellie both resigned themselves to the new rules. Truth be told, Jack relaxed a little in knowing there would always be someone around to keep an eye on Ellie. He knew that she was enjoying her work out in the woods with Malachi. Others might get overprotective and feel the need to shut someone away, but Jack could never do that to her.

“And one last thing,” Kara said before they both exited the room. “I took it upon myself to contact your brother recently Jack. I felt it might be important for him to finally know where you are.”

All the blood drained from Jack’s body. Brother? The family he could barely remember? “You mean Eric? What did you tell him?”

“I told him that I heard you were alive. Didn’t tell him where you were though. Thought I might leave that up to you if you want to talk to him. I have a charmed mirror back at the temple, it’s what I use to keep in touch with the families. It’s there if you want to talk to him.”

Jack felt slightly dazed, he looked over at Ellie, searching her blue eyes for answers. “What do you think I should do?”

She shrugged. “Might be good to speak with him, let him know that you’re okay.”

“Wouldn’t be the worst thing if you spoke with him too,” Kara suggested. “The Belmont clan are putting a lot of time and effort into looking for the second lost daughter. They might feel some relief in knowing that you’re safe beside Jack.”

Kara’s involvement of Ellie made the prospect more real for her. She swallowed at something in her throat and smiled nervously. “I guess that makes sense. If I’m advocating for Jack to talk to them then it’s only fair that I do the same too.”

The elder held her hands up. “Rest assured I think only good things could come of this call. Your brother is a very powerful vampire Jack. I’ve condemned my villagers to secret, but I can’t expect something this juicy will stay buried for long. It could be worth our while having your brother find out your location before the enemy. I understand if you need time to think it over, I don’t need an answer now.”

Jack could only reason that it made sense, but there was still a nagging feeling in his stomach. It occurred to him that he felt nervous. He barely remembered the face of this brother, but he had to concede that rebuilding an alliance could only be positive.

“No, I don’t need time. I think I know what I want to do. I spent too long in the shadows as a slave to this curse, trying to forget my name and those that once meant something to me. It’s time to let the world know that I’m standing here again, but this time I’m next to a woman that powers me. I want to see the face of the man I once knew. I want to speak… with my brother.”