Free The Bloodstone Oracle (The Dark Gifts Companions) by Willow Cross Page B

voice scolded them.  “Oye, children.  What be ye about when there’s so much work to be done?  Off with yerselves before I call on the Faeries to come have yer hapless hides!”
    In unison, the en tire group would scream and recklessly dash out the front door as she cackled in mirth.  The Faeries never had claimed their victims, even after abundant oaths to dispatch them.  But each time she’d managed the courage to question her Grandmother about it, the answer had always been the same.  “Why child, of course they can’t be bothered with the likes of you.  You are an Abernathe Witch.  The Fae steer clear of the likes of us.  Now git along and take care of yer business before they change their minds.”
    Her husband’s tender touch brought her out of her memories of the past and loved ones who were no longer with her. “We must go, my love.  This was the last.  Your safety and that of our child cannot be secured in this land.  We must make way for the New World if we are to survive.”
    A quivering over her breast bone startled her.  Looking down, she discovered the Bloodstone not only vibrating, but also pulsating with a dim red light.  Wrapping her hand around the now warm stone, she was immediately drawn into a vision.
    A small dark-haired child with lar ge brown eyes and cherub cheeks sat quietly playing with a doll surrounded by a room full of Vampires.  As their dress was very strange, Marie knew it had to be a vision of the future.  The young girl didn’t seem remotely frightened by that fact she was being kept by such monstrous creatures.  In fact, she seemed quite happy and content.  The colors swirled together and grew dark as the scene changed.  A withered old woman with scraggly white hair fought against an ancient sorcerer.  Shards of magic, light and dark, whizzed back and forth between the two as each struggled to gain access to the young girl.  The old Wizard had flowing locks of silver and a beard nearly the length of his hair.  Rage consumed him as he bellowed, “You will not have her.  Her destiny is set in stone.”
    And just as quickly as it had begun, the vision faded and Marie was once again standing in front of her husband.
    “What happened?  What did you see?” he asked.
    She shook her head.  “ Vampires and a child they protected.  A human child.  And an old Wizard consumed in battle with an evil Witch.”
    His eyebrows drew together.  “Our child?”
    “No.  Not this child, but one that is coming.  He said her destiny was set in stone.  What could that mean?  And why would bloodthirsty Vampires protect a human offspring.  It’s not possible!” 
    Confusion clouded his ey es.  “It does not seem feasible; however, we do know that our bloodline is strong.  Maybe the child controls them.”
    Raising her eyes to meet his concerned gaze, her voice cracked with emotion. “It will never end for our children, Damien.  They will be persecuted and sought after for as long as they live.”
    Damien brushed the gentle rain of tears from her left cheek. “Not so long as they have the Bloodstone, Darling.  We must take to the sea and get her as far away from this land as is humanly possible.”
    Marie sniffed and wiped away the last of her tears, for surely her last tear had fallen.  She would escape as her family had intended.  And she would exact retribution for each and every life which had fallen under Kiana’s brutal hand.  Maybe not in this life, but before the end of time, her bloodline would be avenged. 

Chapter Two
    Marie’s legs seemed incapable of navigating the wooden dock after four months of traveling by sea.  Grasping the low railing, she steadied herself while Damien spoke with the dock master.  Behind her, the crew of the Dover noisily hustled about the deck unloading cargo and making ready to take on new passengers.  The city of Saint Augustine sprawled out in front of her.  Narrow streets teemed with wagons, merchants, and