Daughter of Darkness (Kindred 1)

“No.”

“I was only in the sixth grade, but I invited this boy, and his mother brought him over. Actually, in the back of my mind, I thought I was doing a good thing.”

“How would that be a good thing?” I asked. I was interested to see if anything had been different for her when she was growing up with Daddy and Mrs. Fennel.

“Helping Brianna find someone new. He was big for his age and very strong. Boys in seventh, eighth, and even ninth grade were afraid of him. I didn’t know our rules about whom to choose and not to choose for Daddy back then. I thought I’d bring him around for Brianna’s consideration. Boy, was Mrs. Fennel angry. Neither of you have ever seen her that angry, and I hope for your sakes you never do.”

“What did she do when the boy was brought over?” Marla asked.

“She let him stay, of course, but as soon as his mother came for him, she pounced on me. Daddy was away at the time. I thought she was literally going to kill me and bury me in the backyard or something. I went to sleep shivering that night.”

“What happened when Daddy found out?” I asked.

“He was angry, too, but nothing like she was. He came to my room the next morning and woke me to tell me more than I knew about our lives up to then, so I wouldn’t make the same error again. I cried, and he held me and told me it was all right. When Daddy forgives you, you feel forgiven,” she said. “I wasn’t as terrified of Mrs. Fennel the next day, but I swear, she glared at me with fire in her eyes for at least a week afterward. It was like two hot coals cooling down. I complained, but Daddy told me not to be upset with her. He said she was only being very protective and had gone through her own difficulties.”

“Is that when Daddy told you what happened to her husband?” Marla asked.

I looked at her resentfully. Why was Ava growing closer to her, telling her things at her age that she had never told me?

“Not exactly then but not long afterward,” Ava said. She was quiet for such a long moment I thought that was it, but then she said, “She had made the nearly fatal mistake of falling in love with someone.” She turned to me quickly. “That’s why she has the thoughts she has about love.”

“Why was it nearly fatal?” I asked, holding my breath. Would she tell us more?

“She told him too much about us and herself and put not only herself in danger but Daddy, too, and the others, of course.”

“I can’t believe Mrs. Fennel would have done that,” I said.

“Love,” Ava said out of the corner of her mouth. “Just because she’s very old doesn’t mean she can’t keep learning things, too, you know.”

“So, what happened then?” Marla asked.

Ava smirked. “Try to guess.”

“I can’t guess,” Marla whined.

“She brought him to Daddy,” she said, again looking at me. “It broke her heart forever, but it was the right thing to do. As a reward for her sacrifice, Daddy let her keep his name. This happened a very long time ago, but she still smarts over it, and that’s why she hates being questioned about herself and why she says love can be poison for us.”

Mrs. Fennel, I thought, amazed. I’d never in a million years have guessed she was someone with a broken heart. Was Ava telling me these things deliberately now? Did she know about me and Buddy? Was it meant to be a lesson I should never forget?

“Well, I’m never going to fall in love,” Marla said. “Just the idea of being with only one man forever makes me sick to my stomach.”

Ava laughed and put her arm around her to embrace her and kiss her. “Our lovely, perfect little sister,” she said. “Don’t you agree, Lorelei?”

“Yes,” I said. “She surprises me more and more every minute of every passing day.” Although I didn’t like being this way, I know I sounded bitter and sarcastic.

“Remember what Daddy told us,” Marla said, wagging her head. “Surprises can be wonderful. It makes every day seem like the first day of your life.”

“None of us quotes Daddy better or more accurately than you do, Marla,” Ava said.

Why was she heaping compliments on our younger sister? She should be heaping them on me. I was the next in line, not Marla.

“So, what are you going to tell Daddy when he finds out you were suspended from school?” Marla asked me.

I looked at both of them, at the way they were both waiting for my response. It was as if they were testing me. It made me angry to see them ganging up on me, but I knew that losing my temper was just what Marla would enjoy seeing.

I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could. “I’m certainly not going to lie about it. I’ll tell him the truth.”

“What is the truth?” Ava asked.