Legacy Forgotten

Chapter 5

Ailis stood there for quite a long time trying to catch her breath. She was confused. What had she done wrong to make him leave so abruptly? She was surprised at how hurt she felt, and quickly decided that his leaving was probably for the best. How could she have let that happen? He was a vampire for Christ's sake.

A small voice in the back of her mind quietly reminded her that she was not exactly human either. She chose to ignore that small voice and went to the attic where her study was. She sat at her desk looking out the only window facing the east. It was a wonderful place to sit and view the sunrise. She found herself feeling bad that Kenneth would never enjoy this sight with her. She sat back and glanced around the room, there was one window and no other light source in this room. A small private smile came to her as she thought of the most wonderful idea.

Before she could think better of it and change her mind, Ailis made a few calls and managed to get six good hours of sleep before she had to get up and get to work. It was a long boring night made worse by thoughts of the kiss she shared with Kenneth. Just the thought of it brought butterflies to her stomach. She was so confused. How could she be feeling anything for a murderer, let alone the strong feelings she was having now? When they kissed, her whole body and soul came to life in such a way, it had her wondering if she'd in fact been dead inside all of these years. She could feel her soul screaming out for him this very minute. She slammed back in her chair on a frustrated huff, looking heavenward as she spoke.

"I wish you were here grandmother. Then I would know what to do." She said out loud and was very shocked, as she could have sworn she heard her grandmother chuckle and say. "You never listened to me before my child. Why should you start now?"

Ailis sat frozen at her desk and couldn't speak. Was she going crazy? She knew she'd felt her grandmother's presence a few times since she'd been here but in each case, she'd been very afraid and figured she'd felt her grandmother because she'd wanted to, because ,she needed to. Ailis reasoned with herself that maybe, just maybe along with witches and vampires, other supernatural beings existed as well. Maybe ghosts were real and some bonds just can't be broken. She told herself and answered. "I am so confused. I don't even know this man but I feel like I've known him forever. What do I do?"

"Listen to what's inside you child. What you seek lies behind your reflection."

"What?" She said. But there was nothing but silence.

That woman Ailis said exasperated. Even in death all she does is talk in riddles.

Just as she was ready to leave for the night her radio went off advising that there was another body found and she was the closest. She was immediately alert and on her way. She was worried the whole way there. She knew that Kenneth was agitated when he left this morning but she didn't think he was that angry. She pulled up to the boardwalk and all but ran down to the pier. She approached at full speed but stopped dead in her tracks when she got close enough to see the body. It was horrible. The body was torn to shreds and was unrecognizable. Her heart began to beat ferociously and she felt like she was going to be sick. As she came closer, Collin saw that there was something wrong.

"Ailis" He said as he ran to her side and placed an arm over her shoulder to steady her. "You shouldn't be here, they shouldn't have called you. This is too bad for you to see."

At his statement Ailis straightened up. No way was he treating her like a fragile little girl. "I'm okay." She said to Collin as she shrugged out of his reach. "It just surprised me, that's all."

"Alright." Collin said looking a little hurt but quickly recovering. "Well this is the worst of all the others but we're pretty sure it's the same guy." Ailis swallowed hard. That's what she was afraid of.