Impossibilites

“Please come in, everyone,” Abigail stepped aside and led us into her house.

Her houseboat was old and looked like it was rotting right before us. The wallpaper was dingy and was peeling off the walls. Cobwebs occupied the corners by the ceiling. What photos she had in frames, had dust caked on the glass, obscuring the pictures. Burnt candles littered the house, the wax that cooled on them hung off the sides like icicles.

“Sorry about the condition of my house,” Abigail sighed as she took a seat in her old, worn out armchair, “I may live here, but this place is rotting from the swamp around it. I usually stick to Bourbon Street, but a certain Sarmiento has returned to the south and I had to come out here.”

“That’s because she brought us here to find you,” Alex told her.

“Mackenzie,” Abigail looked at me, “Please explain to me why you’re here. I know you’re turned, but I need to know why.”

“I had a daughter,” I told her, “She’s half human and half vampire. Alex is her father.”

“Alexander Gaskarth,” Abigail looked at Alex, “I knew you looked familiar. I can’t believe you chased after a Valerious pureblood princess. You’ve out done yourself. And you were a mere torturer for the Trevinus family before the dissolution of the council.”

“You know him,” I asked her.

“She’s a good friend of mine,” Alex replied.

“He was the one that got me my job working for your mother,” Abigail added, “He did it to protect me from Carmina.”

“Abigail,” Alex looked at her, “I was the one that turned her. I’m sorry that I messed up the plan to protect Mackenzie. I had no idea.”

“It’s no problem, Alex,” she replied, “We just have to contact Elizabeth. She’ll know what to do now.”

“Meaning she’ll find the crystal with my vampire essence in it,” I asked her.

“She has it with her,” she explained, “The spell that I used to trap your father in the car under the lake only worked on him. Your mother was able to escape after an hour. She’s been in hiding ever since.”

“But where,” I asked her, “I need to protect my family from Nathaniel before he finds me.”

“That’s the tricky part,” Abigail got up and grabbed a crystal that dangled from a silver chain, “Your mother wanted the spell to anchor to your human life. Once your heart stopped beating, the seal was broken. If Nathaniel can feed, he’ll regain his strength and hunt you down and then find her.”

“But you can find my sister,” Richard asked.

“Of course I can,” she replied, “But I must travel with you to find her. I will be the best protection for you now.”

“But what about Carmina,” I asked, “She’s in New Orleans to help us.”

“She will take up the first opportunity to betray you,” Abigail protested, “She wants Alex. She always will want Alex.”

“And I don’t want her,” Alex replied, “Carmina will leave us alone once we finish dealing with Nathaniel.”

“Or I will rip her heart out once I’m a pureblood,” I added, “She will not take you from me again, Alex.”
---
We journeyed with Abigail to New Orleans. Abigail needed her coven to help track down my mother. We also needed to set up a truce between Carmina and Abigail so we could work together. I was not about to lose my chance to be free to live my immortal life with my father on the loose, trying to kill me and my mother.

“Alright so I agreed to the truce,” Carmina sighed, “But I fail to see how your coven is involved with tracking down Elizabeth.”

“I need the power of other witches to help me track her,” Abigail replied, “And I need them to open the tomb she asked me to create for her.”

“You trapped my mother in a tomb,” I looked at Abigail with skepticism, “Yet you need to track her down with a spell.”

“I didn’t seal the door before she compelled me to forget the location she asked to be sealed in,” she explained, “I was compelled to lock her away somewhere and then return to New Orleans. Whenever you managed to find, I had to help you find her.”

“That is a complex compulsion,” Alex commented, “I thought witches were immune to being compelled.”

“Purebloods like Elizabeth are much stronger,” she replied, “She can compel witches due to her talents.”

“We must begin, Abigail,” one of the witches interrupted, “The moon will only be visible from behind the clouds for so long.”

With that, the ritual started. The witches all chanted as us four vampires watched. I was nervous about seeing my mom again. I was worried that she had been denied blood for so long that she’s need a lot of blood to be able to help me become a pureblood vampire again.

After an hour, Abigail and the witches finished to tracking spell. I stood up from my seat on the floor, hoping for good news on where my mother is.

“Where is she,” I asked.

“She’s here in New Orleans,” she replied, “In the graveyard, in an old mausoleum.”

“Is there a catch to this,” I asked.

“No,” she replied, “But we must be cautious.”

“Why,” I asked.

“Richard isn’t the only pureblood in this town right now,” she replied, “We must stay on the lookout for Evangeline.”

“Why,” I asked.

“She’s my wife,” Richard explained, “She must be protecting Elizabeth. I haven’t seen her since before you were hidden away with me as a human.”

“Why would she be hostile then,” I asked.

“Because she sided with Nathaniel,” he replied, “But she changed her mind when Elizabeth explained that he was going to kill you to achieve his goal. She vowed to protect Elizabeth.”

“Can we reason with her,” I asked him.

“I have no idea,” he replied, “But I hope we can. Hopefully she’ll help us defeat Nathaniel.”

“What do we do if she doesn’t,” I asked him.

“We have to make her exchange places with Elizabeth at that point,” Abigail answered for him, “Evangeline was on the verge of losing her mind because of Nathaniel once. He left her in pieces. He tortured her until she gave up where your mother was hiding you before I removed your vampire side.”

“How did my mother survive that night then,” I asked.

“Because I helped her,” We froze in our tracks. I turned around first and saw the blonde woman that had answered my question.

Notes