Free Blood Descendants (St. Clair Vampires Book 1) by Beverly Toney Page A

of the person whom had smuggled me to a
safe place.
    What I saw was a
familiar face and extraordinary blue eyes from my past, and she had
her finger to her lips in a plea to silence my forthcoming scream.
    I opened my eyes
screaming! No longer sitting on the forest floor in the arms of a
monster, instead I was sitting in a plush chair in front of an altar
of strangers. My clothes were wet with sweat and I felt like I would
never breathe again. Even though I was awake and simply recalling the
dream, it still felt as if I was experiencing the events myself. Once
I was able to gain an ounce of composure, I looked toward the dais.
    Efia and the rest of
the panel were looking at me with sympathy. I was certain that they
thought I was insane and would have to be admitted into psychiatric
care, but each of them smiled in turn and made me feel encouraged.
Instinctively, I reached out my hand and was rewarded with Tabitha’s
firm grip and confident smile. She had become my constant comfort
and, regardless of the current circumstances, I welcomed her
presence.
    “ Well,”
Efia said, “I recall it exactly the same way.”
    “ But
how? What's wrong with me?”
    This question earned me
soft laughs from the panel. But, before I could feel offended, they
all smiled benevolently.
    “ Cheyenne,
from time to time, some of my descendants will relive my life in
their dreams. Unfortunately, my child, you were given some of the
unpleasant parts.”
    “ But,
I don’t understand.”
    “ And
it may take you years to gain that understanding, but we do not have
that luxury. Time is not, as they say, on our side. You will be 18 in
three months and must decide what you are going to do for the rest of
your life. What you are going to be.”
    I knew that turning 18
was a big deal, but Efia sounded as cryptic as a conspiracy theorist.
I looked around for confirmation that she was a little bit crazy and
received none. Everyone in the room was in agreement with whatever
Efia was talking about.
    “ So,
what now? Who am I suppose to be?”
    “ There
is no easy way to say this, so let me start with some introductions.
You know Tabitha, of course, and you’ve met Solomon on a few
occasions,” Efia paused as if waiting to see if I were prepared
for the rest.
    “ To
my left,” she continued and held up her left hand, “are
Abraham, Israel and Providence. And to my right are Pleasant, Rachel
and Eliza.”
    I stared at them,
noting their names as some that appeared on the family tree. I
searched my memory for the dates to match and decided that I must
have read something wrong. I couldn't remember all of the dates, but
there were two that really stood out to me. Since I was born in 1994,
I remembered that the other date of birth was that of Pleasant. And
the only reason I remembered it was because I loved that name; its
originality. The Pleasant on the family tree was born in 1793.
    As soon as I thought
it, Pleasant turned her eyes toward me and held my gaze. She seemed
to be searching for understanding and comprehension but I knew she
would get none. I had no idea what was going on.
    Just then, the doors to
the room slammed open and Jordan walked in with another man at his
side. The second man looked like Jordan but was slightly smaller and
a bit darker. Both men nodded in my direction and continued to the
dais. They bowed as the shorter man spoke.
    “ Excuse
the interruption, Efia. The Oleanders are closing ranks. We must
decide our next course of action.”
    “ Thank
you, Zander,” Efia said. “Cheyenne, I had hoped the next
set of events would happen differently, but we are out of time.”
    She paused, less for
effect than for my benefit. The next thing out of her mouth was going
to be big.
    “ Zander
and Jordan are your brothers and you have a younger sister around
here somewhere. We are all family, in fact, in one way or another.”
    “ But
how…,”
    “ There
will be time for that later,” she continued. “For now,
know this: I am a