“Wasn’t he the one who kidnapped you?”
“Yes, he took me while the tensions were heightened between him and my father. I was eventually rescued by your mother, well, our mother now. She was my guardian angel.” Rebecca paused, a grateful look in her eyes. This was why she and Mum were so close. She’d rescued Rebecca from someone who meant her harm. “It wasn’t long after I was rescued that full-blown war broke out.”
“But with Dad being a vampire and mum being a witch, didn’t that mean they were on opposing sides?” I asked.
“They were star-crossed lovers for a time, yes, but when Jeremy Whitfield discovered Dad’s relationship with Mum, he banished him from vampire territory. That’s when Dad joined forces with the north to try and bring peace to the city. Whitfield wasn’t their only enemy, however. There were three sides to the war. Theodore wanted to claim the city, too. He was the worst kind of evil. Far worse even than Whitfield.” She shuddered at the memory. “Rita was the one who killed him in the end.”
“She killed her own father? But how? I thought it was almost impossible to kill a sorcerer.”
“It’s not impossible. There is a way, but it’s too grizzly to recount right now. Anyway, once Theodore was dead, and Whitfield, too, the people could finally start working towards rebuilding the city we know today. My biological father was also a casualty of the fighting. I was alone in the world, but then Mum and Dad took me in, gave me a home, loved me like I was their flesh and blood. I’ll be forever grateful to them for that.”
“I’m so glad they did. I would’ve hated growing up without you as a sister.”
A tender smile graced her lips as she reached out to touch my cheek softly. “And I was obsessed with you when you were born. You were the cutest baby. I’d always wanted a little sister.”
We fell into silence for a short while before I spoke, “Rita and Mum sensed a malevolent presence enter the city recently. Someone travelled from Oreylia. They think this is the person who murdered Mr Williams.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Are there vampires in Oreylia?”
“No, it’s mostly demons. That’s what Rita said, anyway.”
“Then how could they have killed Mr Williams? He was bitten, his blood drained.”
“That part remains a mystery. Did you know that I’m a suspect?”
Rebecca cast me a sympathetic look. “Yes, but all that will soon be cleared up once the Guard can confirm where you were when he was killed.” What she said brought my thoughts back to Peter. He was my alibi, my lifeline to innocence, but I still wanted to know what really happened to Mr Williams. Especially since I had this weird feeling that his killing was somehow connected to Angela’s stalker. They were two completely separate events, and yet, something deep down in my gut said they were linked. It would be hard to sleep until the murderer was found and no longer roaming freely around St. Bastian’s. I didn’t want anyone else to die, but I was particularly protective over Angela. I wouldn’t be able to rest until she was safe. It was my duty.
I stared at the ceiling, an idea springing to mind. There was a chance I could discover the truth all by myself.
“Where are you going?” Rebecca asked when I climbed from the bed.
“I just remembered I have some homework I need to finish before tomorrow,” I replied.
“Okay, well, can you turn the lights out before you go?”
“Sure,” I said, going to the lamp next to her bed. “And thanks for talking to me tonight. I know it can’t be easy recounting all that stuff.”
“It was good to talk about it, face my fears,” Rebecca said.
I bent and kissed her cheek before going to my bedroom. There, I turned on the light and dug out my textbook for Mrs Tenaka’s clairvoyance class. Last year, we worked on a spell that allowed us to peer back in time. Very few students managed to cast the spell effectively, but Peter was one of them. If I could enlist his help, then maybe I could peer into those few minutes when Mr Williams was killed and see the murderer for myself.
It couldn’t hurt to ask for a favour. Well, two favours since I still needed to ask him for that alibi.
***
I spent a good portion of the next morning at the Guard’s Headquarters with my parents. I gave them the entire rundown of my day, leading up to when Mr Williams’ body was discovered. They told me they’d be in touch with Peter to confirm my account. After that, I drove to school and tried to put the fact that I was still a murder suspect out of my head.
During the dinner break, I ran my idea to enlist Peter’s help with the clairvoyance spell by Nic. He was the only person around who I could talk to since Grace wouldn’t arrive for her classes for another half an hour. Angela was a few tables away eating with her witch friends, so speaking to her wasn’t an option either, though I found it reassuring to have her close where I could keep an eye on her. My dad still had his people watching her neighbourhood, and I planned to go there later today to scope the place out again.