Broken Glass and Bleeding Hearts
Chapter Thirty
Tuesday and Wednesday passed in a blur; a blur of avoidance. After the revelation about Dalton being related to Angelica it became my mission to avoid them both. The last thing I needed was for him to find out anything and repeat it to her. Thankfully Zacky and Matt had agreed and helped me hide from them.
Zacky had promised me that he was keeping track of Dalton as much as he could. Unfortunately this didn’t help me feel any better. Angelica still had more people on her side and we didn’t know if Dalton was actually one of them or not. He might be helping her involuntarily or he might be a part of her gang; we had no way to know for sure.
What was possibly the worst part is that Matt is still clueless. As far as he knew I just wanted to avoid Dalton so he wouldn’t have anything to tell Angelica. Zacky had tried to convince me that I needed to tell Matt everything, but I refused. If I told Matt then he would worry and I didn’t want that.
By Thursday afternoon I was tired. The only thing that I had to look forward to was that in 24 hours I could fall asleep on the couch watching TV. So as I stood at my locker, shoving whatever books I’d need for homework into my book bag, I tried to ignore the guys talking across the hall. From what I could hear they were talking about some huge party that was happening tomorrow night.
“Are you going to come over and watch band practice?” Matt’s voice cut into my thoughts.
“Nah I think I’ll skip this time. I’m tired and have a ton of shit to get done at home. I’m sorry Matt.” I closed my locked door and zipped my book bag, trying to not look Matt in the eyes.
"Okay Elliebear. I'll see you tomorrow then." There were no indicators in Matt's voice that suggested this disappointed him.
When I got home I tossed my house and car keys on the table, my bookbag on the couch, and my hoodie on the rarely-used chair. Without another glance around the living room I walked into the kitchen and immediately felt chilled. I should have been able to put more thought to the chilled sensation that ran down my spine but it happened so often I just brushed it off. I needed something to drink and to snack on before I got started on my chores and homework.
After I finished eating I went to pull the vacuum out of the closet. Once again, due to my paranoia, I didn't put any thought to the second chill in my spine. It was probably just my mind playing tricks on me.
Just before I was about to turn the vacuum on the phone rang. "Hello?" I answered, expecting either my mom or my aunt to be on the other end.
"Sweetie I'm gonna be late tonight. I got held up here at the office. If you wanna order a pizza or chinese for dinner there is some money in the jar. I'm so sorry honey. Will you be okay?" My mom's voice was tired. After a week of going to the office early or having to stay late she was worn out.
"I'll be fine Mom, I'll just order a pizza. Just don't stress out about me. I understand." It was then when I heard a sound outside the house.
"Okay well I'll be home around 8 or so. I love you."
"Love you too." As soon as I hit the end button I looked towards the windows. There was no sign of anyone outside but something didn't feel right. Even though I was paranoid most of the time I knew it wasn't that this time. Someone had been outside of that window.
With a sudden feeling of unease I walked towards the window. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of chest as I approached the glass. There was no one even walking along the sidewalks or anyone even outside throughout the neighborhood. Instead of waiting for the mysterious person to re-appear I pulled the curtains closed.
After finishing chores and my homework I returned to the couch. I turned on the television but for some reason glanced at the window. I thought that I saw a shadow on the other side, but when I stood up it was gone.
An hour and a half, three slices of pizza, and one horrible "comedy" later and I knew what I had to do. Even though I was exhausted, and at the time had a lot I needed to do, that wasn't the reason I'd skipped out on watching the guys practice. I had more pressing matters that needed to be attended to first.
With a reluctant sigh I turned off the TV, grabbed my book bag, and headed up to my room. Once I was settled in, bedside reading lamp on and in my pajamas, I opened the book bag. Inside were my usual text books and more importantly two small and worn paperbacks. I grabbed the first one and crawled under the covers.
The night before Zacky had showed up unexpectedly. He said that he had a breakthrough and handed me the two paperbacks. Apparently he'd used the pretense of wanting to know more about our history to gain access to the coven archive. That was where he'd found both of them.
The book I now held in my hand was titled "The Coven of Roses - Beginnings and Endings". On the cover was a picture of blood-soaked roses that rested against a shield. A part of my mind was scared, maybe I didn't want to know about all of this, but another part was screaming to get it over with.
So I opened the book and started reading chapter one, which was appropriately titled "The Origin." What follows is what sent a thrill and a surge of ice cold terror through my blood.
In 1575, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, daughter of King Henry the VIII, a wealthy coven of vampires was established. This coven, known as the Coven of Roses, rose to power early on. The quick rise in power was mostly due to the fact that it was composed of well known and strong vampires, had strong leadership, and was extremely well organized.
Unlike many of the lesser covens it had laws, which were made and enforced by the ruling families, and avoided unnecessary blood shed. This gave it an advantage during times of war and made it almost invincible. Even the lines of power and rules governing who was eligible for power were established to avoid chaos.
From the beginning the two families that were the coven leaders were the Ainsworth family and the Sanders family. They were the two most well established, powerful, and smartest vampire families in the English countryside. The third family in line was the Jones family followed by the Baker family.
In 1578 there was a war between the Coven of Roses and Heksensamenkomst van het Meer, which was Dutch for Coven of the Lake. The Dutch coven was desperate for territory in the area of English country side that the Coven of Roses had control of. So in early May of that year Heksensamenkomst van het Meer moved in, fully prepared for the war of their lives.
The war was short-lived however, lasting for only two and a half nights. Half way through the third night what was left of the Dutch coven surrendered because they feared for their lives. The army that had been composed of three hundred brave vampires had been reduced to a mere 120 in less than three nights.
The next victory for the Coven of Roses was in a war against A Jég Coven, a Hungarian coven who sought power. Having heard about the last coven that raged war against the Coven of Roses they waited and planned for two years. They made an impressive army and took the time to organize their soldiers and establish an impressive battle plan. In December of 1586 A Jég Coven marched into Coven of Roses territory and waged war.
For three long months, fighting only at night, the two covens battled for power. A Jég Coven had an army of 700 vampires while Coven of Roses had an army of 500 when the war began. When the third month finally came to a close the numbers were 375 for A jég coven and 390 for Coven of Roses. To this day it is still the most devastating war for the coven. Like their first war the coven emerged victoriously.
There was a time of peace for the Coven of Roses as the 1500s drew to their close. As the world entered the 1600s they were considered one of the greatest powers in the vampire world; envied by many and feared by even more. Even though the Coven was still young in age others around the world saw the great potential it possessed and they feared what the future would bring.
Upon turning the page I realized that chapters two, three, and four where all about wars the coven had fought over the course of the next 150 years. I scanned through for anything that would be useful to me and discovered nothing. However, the title of chapter four told me that it was something that would be useful.
Trouble within the Coven
In 1770 an issue of power within the top ranking families arose. The Ainsworth and Sanders families, newer generations of course, were still coven leaders and most coven members had no issue with this. The Jones family, however, felt that they had been pushed aside for far too long. In a coven meeting in late August they expressed their feelings.
The coven leaders agreed to put it to a vote, if the members of the coven felt that it was time for new leaders they would oblige and step down. A week after the meeting they had the vote and the Jones family anxiously awaited the results. The results came back in favor of things remaining they way they were.
A month passed without any real friction among the coven. Unknown to everyone else, the Jones family was plotting something that would bring them their own power. At the following meeting the family announced that they were separating from the coven to form their own.
When the Coven of Blood, as they called it, formed within weeks it consisted only of the Jones family and their closest friends. However, the coven didn't last very long and they soon began to seek re-admittance to the Coven of Roses.
Their request was accepted and they were re-instated to their former rank.
Nothing else of the chapter was really that useful. Actually the next few chapters weren't the useful but I read them anyway. Finally it came to chapter 10.
The End of the Coven of Roses
In 1899 the Coven Leaders decided that it was time for a change. At a June meeting they announced their plans. The first thing they wanted to do was create a set of rules for future generations. The next thing they wanted to do was create a message that would be displayed in future meeting places. And the last thing they wanted to do was disband the order of power.
Since they were entering the 1900s they wanted everyone to have an equal say in the future of the coven. They thought it was only right that as they entered new times they create a new way of doing things. Much to their surprise everyone except the Jones family agreed.
So on New Years Eve of 1899 they signed new laws into effect, wrote out their message for future generations and then at midnight all resigned their positions.
The first time the Jones family spoke to the entire coven in January 1900 they vowed that one day they would return things to their original way of order. They also swore that they would take the place as Coven Leaders and rule as the sole leaders. This still has yet to happen and everyone has agreed that the newer generations have since forgotten this vow.
In 1950 the coven dropped the name of Coven of Roses and adopted the name of The Council. They reside in Huntington Beach as they have since the city's establishment.
The rest of the chapter consisted of information that didn't really help me, most of it was new decisions made by "The Council" and a copy of the letter from the last Coven Leaders. The power that essentially ran in my blood line scared me to no end. Every generation of both my family and Matt's until 1900 had been a coven leader, and now Angelica wanted the position for herself.
After reading the last chapter I had a better grasp on why they had changed things. They wanted a new century to bring new ways; new possibilities for the future generations. It had been that way for almost a century now and so far it had worked semi-well. But now it might be in danger of taking a turn for the worse.
Before reading the book I'd had no idea exactly how much rested on not letting Angelica win. It wasn't just about Matt and I's safety anymore. It might be about the safety of our families, our friends, even our friend's families. God only knew what Angelica would do if she got the power that she desired. For all we know she'd have everyone who didn't agree with her imprisoned or enslaved to her.
As I placed the book in back in my book bag I glanced at the clock. It was 7:30 now and I knew I should begin reading the other book. Zacky said he’d checked them out for two weeks, I was a little surprised that the archives worked like a library, so I didn’t have to cram them all at once, but he’d forgotten that we were in a race against time.
But as I reached for the second book another chill ran down my spine. I thought maybe it was caused by the fact that the second book contained detailed records all the high ranking families, their accomplishment and failures, and extremely detailed chapters of the bloodiest wars the coven had ever fought. But just as I grabbed the second book I heard something downstairs.
Ice cold fear shot through my veins. So many different scenarios ran through my mind, mostly about who could be down there. My hand sub-consciously twitched towards the baseball bat I now kept beside by bed. However I was literally frozen where I was. I’d never thoughts she’d stoop low enough to enter the house.
A few minutes later and everything went silent. There were no footsteps, no one breathing, and no ice running through my veins. I grabbed the bat and headed downstairs, not feeling terrified anymore. Everything was exactly how it had been, minus the fact that the door wasn’t locked anymore.
After I relocked the door I noticed something on the table. It was a white envelope lying on the coffee table with my name printed on the outside. I’d seen the writing before, it was Angelica’s. Unfortunately that wasn’t any definite indication of who had left it.
Inside was a fairly long note in her handwriting. Nothing really stood out in it. Mostly it was just a repeat of what she’d already told me. It was the last line that really stood out, one simple sentence that made me fear for my loved ones and myself. A simple “Watch your back, and watch the backs of your friends.”
When my mom’s key slid into the lock I hadn’t moved. Without thinking I crumpled the note and shoved it in the pocket of my hoodie, which was still in the chair. “Hey sweetheart, I figured you’d be up in your room.” My mom smiled warmly, completely unaware of what had just happened.
“I, uh, heard you coming. Thought I’d come down and say goodnight before I hit the sack. So goodnight, I’ll see you in the morning. There is pizza in the fridge if you want some.” Without waiting for a response I headed upstairs.
After locking my window, lowering the blinds, closing the curtains, setting my alarm clock, and turning off all the lights I crawled into bed. I knew that if I had a nightmare Matt would probably show up or call but if he did I wouldn’t let him stay or answer the phone. Right now I just needed to be alone if for no other reason just to think.
I’d known for a while now that this was out of hand, I knew that it was just getting progressively worse as time went by. But I hadn’t known that she would threaten to go after my friends. I expected threats to directed at me, and worse, at Matt, but not at everyone else. Who was next? Who was to say that she wouldn’t go after my mom next?
So as I squeezed my eyes shut a few tears slipped out. I thought that I’d be able to handle this but I was wrong. There just wasn’t anyway to handle something like this. I was too young, too unable in this aspect of things, and too close to it. Every possible plan had a draw back; every possibility ended with someone getting hurt.
The worst part was Matt knew the same thing that I did. When I’d probed into the darkest part of his mind I’d seen exactly what was in my own mind. Things had spiraled so far out of control that there was only one logical solution.
The only real way we could keep everyone safe was to lower ourselves. There was simply no way to come out of this with clean hands. We couldn’t go about it any other way.
Option one was she killed one or both of us. Option two, the one we both knew we had to pick, was we kill her.
Zacky had promised me that he was keeping track of Dalton as much as he could. Unfortunately this didn’t help me feel any better. Angelica still had more people on her side and we didn’t know if Dalton was actually one of them or not. He might be helping her involuntarily or he might be a part of her gang; we had no way to know for sure.
What was possibly the worst part is that Matt is still clueless. As far as he knew I just wanted to avoid Dalton so he wouldn’t have anything to tell Angelica. Zacky had tried to convince me that I needed to tell Matt everything, but I refused. If I told Matt then he would worry and I didn’t want that.
By Thursday afternoon I was tired. The only thing that I had to look forward to was that in 24 hours I could fall asleep on the couch watching TV. So as I stood at my locker, shoving whatever books I’d need for homework into my book bag, I tried to ignore the guys talking across the hall. From what I could hear they were talking about some huge party that was happening tomorrow night.
“Are you going to come over and watch band practice?” Matt’s voice cut into my thoughts.
“Nah I think I’ll skip this time. I’m tired and have a ton of shit to get done at home. I’m sorry Matt.” I closed my locked door and zipped my book bag, trying to not look Matt in the eyes.
"Okay Elliebear. I'll see you tomorrow then." There were no indicators in Matt's voice that suggested this disappointed him.
When I got home I tossed my house and car keys on the table, my bookbag on the couch, and my hoodie on the rarely-used chair. Without another glance around the living room I walked into the kitchen and immediately felt chilled. I should have been able to put more thought to the chilled sensation that ran down my spine but it happened so often I just brushed it off. I needed something to drink and to snack on before I got started on my chores and homework.
After I finished eating I went to pull the vacuum out of the closet. Once again, due to my paranoia, I didn't put any thought to the second chill in my spine. It was probably just my mind playing tricks on me.
Just before I was about to turn the vacuum on the phone rang. "Hello?" I answered, expecting either my mom or my aunt to be on the other end.
"Sweetie I'm gonna be late tonight. I got held up here at the office. If you wanna order a pizza or chinese for dinner there is some money in the jar. I'm so sorry honey. Will you be okay?" My mom's voice was tired. After a week of going to the office early or having to stay late she was worn out.
"I'll be fine Mom, I'll just order a pizza. Just don't stress out about me. I understand." It was then when I heard a sound outside the house.
"Okay well I'll be home around 8 or so. I love you."
"Love you too." As soon as I hit the end button I looked towards the windows. There was no sign of anyone outside but something didn't feel right. Even though I was paranoid most of the time I knew it wasn't that this time. Someone had been outside of that window.
With a sudden feeling of unease I walked towards the window. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of chest as I approached the glass. There was no one even walking along the sidewalks or anyone even outside throughout the neighborhood. Instead of waiting for the mysterious person to re-appear I pulled the curtains closed.
After finishing chores and my homework I returned to the couch. I turned on the television but for some reason glanced at the window. I thought that I saw a shadow on the other side, but when I stood up it was gone.
An hour and a half, three slices of pizza, and one horrible "comedy" later and I knew what I had to do. Even though I was exhausted, and at the time had a lot I needed to do, that wasn't the reason I'd skipped out on watching the guys practice. I had more pressing matters that needed to be attended to first.
With a reluctant sigh I turned off the TV, grabbed my book bag, and headed up to my room. Once I was settled in, bedside reading lamp on and in my pajamas, I opened the book bag. Inside were my usual text books and more importantly two small and worn paperbacks. I grabbed the first one and crawled under the covers.
The night before Zacky had showed up unexpectedly. He said that he had a breakthrough and handed me the two paperbacks. Apparently he'd used the pretense of wanting to know more about our history to gain access to the coven archive. That was where he'd found both of them.
The book I now held in my hand was titled "The Coven of Roses - Beginnings and Endings". On the cover was a picture of blood-soaked roses that rested against a shield. A part of my mind was scared, maybe I didn't want to know about all of this, but another part was screaming to get it over with.
So I opened the book and started reading chapter one, which was appropriately titled "The Origin." What follows is what sent a thrill and a surge of ice cold terror through my blood.
In 1575, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, daughter of King Henry the VIII, a wealthy coven of vampires was established. This coven, known as the Coven of Roses, rose to power early on. The quick rise in power was mostly due to the fact that it was composed of well known and strong vampires, had strong leadership, and was extremely well organized.
Unlike many of the lesser covens it had laws, which were made and enforced by the ruling families, and avoided unnecessary blood shed. This gave it an advantage during times of war and made it almost invincible. Even the lines of power and rules governing who was eligible for power were established to avoid chaos.
From the beginning the two families that were the coven leaders were the Ainsworth family and the Sanders family. They were the two most well established, powerful, and smartest vampire families in the English countryside. The third family in line was the Jones family followed by the Baker family.
In 1578 there was a war between the Coven of Roses and Heksensamenkomst van het Meer, which was Dutch for Coven of the Lake. The Dutch coven was desperate for territory in the area of English country side that the Coven of Roses had control of. So in early May of that year Heksensamenkomst van het Meer moved in, fully prepared for the war of their lives.
The war was short-lived however, lasting for only two and a half nights. Half way through the third night what was left of the Dutch coven surrendered because they feared for their lives. The army that had been composed of three hundred brave vampires had been reduced to a mere 120 in less than three nights.
The next victory for the Coven of Roses was in a war against A Jég Coven, a Hungarian coven who sought power. Having heard about the last coven that raged war against the Coven of Roses they waited and planned for two years. They made an impressive army and took the time to organize their soldiers and establish an impressive battle plan. In December of 1586 A Jég Coven marched into Coven of Roses territory and waged war.
For three long months, fighting only at night, the two covens battled for power. A Jég Coven had an army of 700 vampires while Coven of Roses had an army of 500 when the war began. When the third month finally came to a close the numbers were 375 for A jég coven and 390 for Coven of Roses. To this day it is still the most devastating war for the coven. Like their first war the coven emerged victoriously.
There was a time of peace for the Coven of Roses as the 1500s drew to their close. As the world entered the 1600s they were considered one of the greatest powers in the vampire world; envied by many and feared by even more. Even though the Coven was still young in age others around the world saw the great potential it possessed and they feared what the future would bring.
Upon turning the page I realized that chapters two, three, and four where all about wars the coven had fought over the course of the next 150 years. I scanned through for anything that would be useful to me and discovered nothing. However, the title of chapter four told me that it was something that would be useful.
Trouble within the Coven
In 1770 an issue of power within the top ranking families arose. The Ainsworth and Sanders families, newer generations of course, were still coven leaders and most coven members had no issue with this. The Jones family, however, felt that they had been pushed aside for far too long. In a coven meeting in late August they expressed their feelings.
The coven leaders agreed to put it to a vote, if the members of the coven felt that it was time for new leaders they would oblige and step down. A week after the meeting they had the vote and the Jones family anxiously awaited the results. The results came back in favor of things remaining they way they were.
A month passed without any real friction among the coven. Unknown to everyone else, the Jones family was plotting something that would bring them their own power. At the following meeting the family announced that they were separating from the coven to form their own.
When the Coven of Blood, as they called it, formed within weeks it consisted only of the Jones family and their closest friends. However, the coven didn't last very long and they soon began to seek re-admittance to the Coven of Roses.
Their request was accepted and they were re-instated to their former rank.
Nothing else of the chapter was really that useful. Actually the next few chapters weren't the useful but I read them anyway. Finally it came to chapter 10.
The End of the Coven of Roses
In 1899 the Coven Leaders decided that it was time for a change. At a June meeting they announced their plans. The first thing they wanted to do was create a set of rules for future generations. The next thing they wanted to do was create a message that would be displayed in future meeting places. And the last thing they wanted to do was disband the order of power.
Since they were entering the 1900s they wanted everyone to have an equal say in the future of the coven. They thought it was only right that as they entered new times they create a new way of doing things. Much to their surprise everyone except the Jones family agreed.
So on New Years Eve of 1899 they signed new laws into effect, wrote out their message for future generations and then at midnight all resigned their positions.
The first time the Jones family spoke to the entire coven in January 1900 they vowed that one day they would return things to their original way of order. They also swore that they would take the place as Coven Leaders and rule as the sole leaders. This still has yet to happen and everyone has agreed that the newer generations have since forgotten this vow.
In 1950 the coven dropped the name of Coven of Roses and adopted the name of The Council. They reside in Huntington Beach as they have since the city's establishment.
The rest of the chapter consisted of information that didn't really help me, most of it was new decisions made by "The Council" and a copy of the letter from the last Coven Leaders. The power that essentially ran in my blood line scared me to no end. Every generation of both my family and Matt's until 1900 had been a coven leader, and now Angelica wanted the position for herself.
After reading the last chapter I had a better grasp on why they had changed things. They wanted a new century to bring new ways; new possibilities for the future generations. It had been that way for almost a century now and so far it had worked semi-well. But now it might be in danger of taking a turn for the worse.
Before reading the book I'd had no idea exactly how much rested on not letting Angelica win. It wasn't just about Matt and I's safety anymore. It might be about the safety of our families, our friends, even our friend's families. God only knew what Angelica would do if she got the power that she desired. For all we know she'd have everyone who didn't agree with her imprisoned or enslaved to her.
As I placed the book in back in my book bag I glanced at the clock. It was 7:30 now and I knew I should begin reading the other book. Zacky said he’d checked them out for two weeks, I was a little surprised that the archives worked like a library, so I didn’t have to cram them all at once, but he’d forgotten that we were in a race against time.
But as I reached for the second book another chill ran down my spine. I thought maybe it was caused by the fact that the second book contained detailed records all the high ranking families, their accomplishment and failures, and extremely detailed chapters of the bloodiest wars the coven had ever fought. But just as I grabbed the second book I heard something downstairs.
Ice cold fear shot through my veins. So many different scenarios ran through my mind, mostly about who could be down there. My hand sub-consciously twitched towards the baseball bat I now kept beside by bed. However I was literally frozen where I was. I’d never thoughts she’d stoop low enough to enter the house.
A few minutes later and everything went silent. There were no footsteps, no one breathing, and no ice running through my veins. I grabbed the bat and headed downstairs, not feeling terrified anymore. Everything was exactly how it had been, minus the fact that the door wasn’t locked anymore.
After I relocked the door I noticed something on the table. It was a white envelope lying on the coffee table with my name printed on the outside. I’d seen the writing before, it was Angelica’s. Unfortunately that wasn’t any definite indication of who had left it.
Inside was a fairly long note in her handwriting. Nothing really stood out in it. Mostly it was just a repeat of what she’d already told me. It was the last line that really stood out, one simple sentence that made me fear for my loved ones and myself. A simple “Watch your back, and watch the backs of your friends.”
When my mom’s key slid into the lock I hadn’t moved. Without thinking I crumpled the note and shoved it in the pocket of my hoodie, which was still in the chair. “Hey sweetheart, I figured you’d be up in your room.” My mom smiled warmly, completely unaware of what had just happened.
“I, uh, heard you coming. Thought I’d come down and say goodnight before I hit the sack. So goodnight, I’ll see you in the morning. There is pizza in the fridge if you want some.” Without waiting for a response I headed upstairs.
After locking my window, lowering the blinds, closing the curtains, setting my alarm clock, and turning off all the lights I crawled into bed. I knew that if I had a nightmare Matt would probably show up or call but if he did I wouldn’t let him stay or answer the phone. Right now I just needed to be alone if for no other reason just to think.
I’d known for a while now that this was out of hand, I knew that it was just getting progressively worse as time went by. But I hadn’t known that she would threaten to go after my friends. I expected threats to directed at me, and worse, at Matt, but not at everyone else. Who was next? Who was to say that she wouldn’t go after my mom next?
So as I squeezed my eyes shut a few tears slipped out. I thought that I’d be able to handle this but I was wrong. There just wasn’t anyway to handle something like this. I was too young, too unable in this aspect of things, and too close to it. Every possible plan had a draw back; every possibility ended with someone getting hurt.
The worst part was Matt knew the same thing that I did. When I’d probed into the darkest part of his mind I’d seen exactly what was in my own mind. Things had spiraled so far out of control that there was only one logical solution.
The only real way we could keep everyone safe was to lower ourselves. There was simply no way to come out of this with clean hands. We couldn’t go about it any other way.
Option one was she killed one or both of us. Option two, the one we both knew we had to pick, was we kill her.