Dark Love

Part 2

Despite the heavily clouded skies outside Saera still found the interiors of the church dark. It took her sometime to get used to the lack of proper lighting. Only a single candle was lit throwing an eerie glow across a limited distance. Saera glanced about the empty church. It was devoid of anything except her mother, the clergyman and the single candle that floated in the air. Her gaze drifted over the darkened depths of the place to settle on the familiar face of her mum before abruptly doubling back to stare off intently into the dark.

"Who's there?"

Her questions softly voiced, echoed in the empty chamber drawing the attention of the stranger beside her who still held her hand clasped in his. But it was her mother who responded.

"Hurry up Saera. Don't dawdle." Her mother's familiar childhood quip drew a frown to taint her brow but Saera didn't say anything, she merely shuffled obligingly forwards. Her attention riveted on the darkened corners before the sight of her mother's own frown cast those shadows momentarily forgotten.

Saera drew up beside her mother and proceeded to stare up at the priest before her. Father Hemphrey was no one new. He had attended her Christianing but as the religion got dissolved post the Change, so to did the job description of Father Hemphrey. He no longer performed infant baptism or indeed baptism of any sort. At least not in the way it was done before the Change. Now he precided over less priestly ceremonies. Some might even claim the Change being the precursor to the return of the old ways. Others claim the existence of witches, wizards and vampires had already graced our world and the Happening of the Change had nothing to do with it.

It had, however, everything to do with the change in circumstances of the Shore family. Before the Change, the Shores had been a force to reckon with. There was might in family and the strength and fortunes to go with it. Now all that remained was the name. Carried on by its last two remaining descendents. Saera turned to stare at her mother recalling the urgent matters she'd raised with her that morning.

"You owe it to your dead parents and the family line to accept your inheritance. The Shore name spelt power at one time for a reason. You're the last Shore. You have to do your duty and marry and marry well."

At four in the morning all that had come across as a blur but still Saera had responded. "You didn't marry either. You threw away your rights to power. You tossed the Shore name to the four winds." She pointed out vehemently. It had been her plan all along to celebrate her twentieth birthday single but ready to mingle. Yet her mother's news had destroyed that dream. Instead she was now supposed to marry this stranger, accept whatever powers came to be from the union and head off to Change Academy of all things. Even now her bags were all packed and ready to go. Once the ceremony was over and the wedding was consummated, her future husband would disappear on her. Abandoning her to attend the academy and train to claim her birthright. What the fuck was that all about? Why did she have to go through this ridiculous plan when her then aunt and now mother, had simply thrown it all away. Why must she carry the burden of her deadline. The line was dead. Necromancy was a criminal offence. Resurrecting the dead was a crime. Resurrecting her family line was hence just a dumb idea all round.

Yet here she was, shivering in threadbare ghastly ancestrial attire and about to commit a mistake of a lifetime.