Free Bloodlines by Lindsay Anne Kendal Page A

just needs to rest,” she said, standing. “Now, I’ll leave you to it, but, Keira, I would like you to come and see me tomorrow morning. If you would like to, of course – it would be nice to get to know you.”
    “That would be lovely, thank you.”
    “Great,” she smiled warmly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She left the room.
    We all sat down while Lucian poured us a glass of wine.
    “So where do you want to start tonight then?” Jake asked me.
    “I don’t know.”
    “OK, well let’s start from the beginning,” Lucian said, sitting down. “Our families were some of the first to settle in Salem Village. They were normal, everyday people back then, none of them had power. I bet they didn’t know it even existed. Anyway, they became farmers and prospered; they worked together to make sure none of their businesses would fail. Their eldest sons became best friends and were inseparable…”
    “You mean John, William, Edward, Arthur and Harry?” I asked.
    “Yes, they worked together, they went to church together, everything…” Tyler continued. “When the pastor was reading his sermons they all paid particular attention to what he said about demons. This was a good few years before the witch-hunts began. At first they all thought it was just they who were interested and didn’t mention it to the others. But when John happened to get his hands on a book about witchcraft and conjuring, the others got excited. That’s when they confessed.”
    “Where did he get it from?” Lily asked.
    “Nobody knows,” Jake said.
    Whenever Lily asked a question he was nearly always the one who answered her.
    “Anyway they did something a few times and then when they were eighteen something happened and they got this power. Sorry to be so vague but nobody really knows. They didn’t go into details with their wives once they were married; they just said it was something they had been given and that it would go to the first-born son in each generation. They said they would get them when they were ten and they would get stronger and stronger as they reached eighteen. Then when they turned eighteen they would be at full power, they would instantly know how to use it, and that was it. Then he told his daughter, Ann, so that she wouldn’t get scared if she saw her dad or brother doing magic.”
    “The only reason they told their wives and children in the first place was because of the witch-hunts,” Lucian said. “They knew it was getting dangerous and that they might not survive it.”
    “How did they know they wouldn’t survive?” I asked.
    “It’s like we told you before – there was a lot of jealousy back then and our families were wealthy, so they knew there was a high risk of their being accused.”
    “They weren’t psychic or anything,” Tyler said. “They just knew what people were like. So they made sure their wives would be able to warn their sons and tell them to keep it secret.”
    “I’m going for a cig,” Danny said getting up. He was clearly agitated.
    “I thought you quit,” Jake said.
    “I did!” he replied and walked out the front door.
    “I think I may have some answers for you guys now,” I told them. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
    I grabbed my car keys and walked outside. Danny was sitting on the steps leading to the front door. I ignored him, went to the car and grabbed the book. I could see him out of the corner of my eye; he was watching me, but not with the normal nasty look on his face. He looked like he wanted to say something but kept stopping himself. When I turned around he looked down. I could see the others watching out the window, probably in case something kicked off. I walked back towards the house but stopped a couple of steps down from where he was sitting. He looked up at me, but there was no nastiness in his eyes.
    “I’ve read some of this,” I said nicely, patting the book. “I think it might cure everyone’s curiosity about what happened on the night