It had been two weeks since James had died. That night haunted Sarah and she couldn't help but replay those events over and over again in her mind. She wasn't sleeping, she stopped going to work, and she had retreated into her bedroom, lost in her thoughts. Her Aunt and Grandmother worried deeply about her. They too had been devastated by the death of her brother but they had reassured her several times that his death was not her fault. Sarah didn't believe a word of it.
The funeral had been simple, most of the people in attendance were classmates and school friends that James had bonded with. He had been in middle school and despite his eccentric nature, his personality had won him many friends and popularity. Tears were shed, prayers were said, flowers were left at his tombstone. The usual affairs of a funeral were somehow more significant to Sarah than they had been before. This felt different from when her parents had died, the loss cut even deeper this time around. Perhaps it was because James was the only other legacy her parents had left behind.
Sarah felt like a failure. Not being able to protect her brother or save him was a stain on her soul, she knew it would be there for all of eternity.
"Sarah, dear, it's time for supper. Wash up and come downstairs." A warm, elderly voice called up to her. Sarah said nothing. A blank sheet of paper was a good symbol for how she felt at this moment. Nonetheless she knew better than to defy her grandmother.
After washing her hands in her bathroom she slowly made her way downstairs. At the landing below snippets of a conversation reached her ears;
"I don't know what to do with her. I thought she had finally healed after her parents had died and now this…"
"It's hard on all of us, mom. She just needs time and comfort, she'll come around eventually."
"I just wish we could make her understand that we don't blame her, that she couldn't have done anything different."
"I think that in the end, she'll realize that."
"I sent a message to the Vampire Noble in charge of this region. An attack on our family constitutes a violation of the accord our ancestors made."
"Has he responded yet?"
"No, I don't expect…"
The conversation trailed off and Sarah realized with a start that she had been rooted to the spot, listening for too long. Her ears had perked up at the mention of vampires and an accord. What did grandmother mean by that? Witches were obviously real and as she had recently learned, so were vampires. How did grandma know a Vampire Noble and what ties did her family have to him? Her curiosity, despite her depression, burned bright within her.
"It's about time you showed up! Dinner was getting cold, go on dear, sit and eat."
Sarah wanted to ask more about what she had overheard but her Aunt knew what she was going to ask before she could even get the words out. A sharp look that clearly said, 'not now' was enough to silence her curiosity, at least for the time being.
***
Sarah waited until she was confident that her aunt and grandma had gone to bed. Wanting to know more about the things she had overheard, she had resolved to sneak up to the attic after bedtime. Sarah knew that her grandmother kept the family Book of Shadows in the attic where most of the rituals were conducted. Sarah had spent most of her childhood visiting the attic and learning the fundamentals of magic from her aunt and grandma. She had never flipped through the whole Book of Shadows before though, it was large and full of information that had been passed down for over two hundred years. It was a daunting task to read through it and Sarah had always been content to focus on the areas pertaining to her lessons.
The carpeted stairs creaked under her feet as she crept through the dark, up the small set of steps that led to a very old oak wooden door. A glowing pentagram radiated from the center of it, a protective ward to keep potential thieves and intruders out of their family's sacred space. Placing her hand on the center of the pentagram unlocked the door and it swung open with a small groaning noise. She paused and listened carefully, other than the sound of the wind passing over the house no other noise disturbed the late time hours.
She closed the door as silently as she could, the clicking noise of the locking mechanism sounded like thunder to her ears. Grimacing, she made her way to the center of the room. A large altar made from white marble stood in the center of the attic. The top was decorated with seasonal summer flowers and a pair of candles, green and yellow, flared to life at her approach. The altar held the tools that her family used in rituals; an athame (a single edged short dagger), a chalice, an incense holder, a bowl of salt, and a bowl of water sat neatly arranged on the surface. In the center of the altar, in a place of honor and power, sat the large Book of Shadows.
Its cover was old, worn brown leather with a large eye embroidered on the front of it. Grandma had always said that the eye was significant to the family and that she would explain it one day when Sarah was ready for that responsibility. The cover flipped over and Sarah began rifling through the pages. The book contained over a thousand pages of spells, potions, correspondences, entries on various spirits, magical times of the year, and much more. Not knowing what to look for made things even more challenging. The only clue to go on was 'vampire'.
After nearly twenty minutes of reading through various pages, Sarah finally found what she was looking for. In the very back of the book was a short and simple entry;
"This is to serve as a permanent record of the sacred accord made with the Vampire Elders, in the year of 1825. After careful deliberation between our family and the Court of the Undead, the agreement was reached. The weapon that the vampires feared so greatly, would be sealed away with a powerful ward. The enchantments binding the weapon in place for all time, would be held in place by the blood of the Chesterwood family. Furthermore, in accordance with the arrangements made, the Chesterwood family agrees to serve as custodians of the weapon. The purpose of this is to keep the weapon a secret, hidden from the world, to include the vampires. Only the Vampire Elders are to be informed of the weapons location, to assist in keeping it hidden as well as guarded.
So long as our family abides by the terms of this agreement, henceforth, no vampire is to touch any member of the Chesterwood family. Should such a thing ever occur, the terms of the agreement would be null and voided. Signed by Johnathan Chesterwood and witnessed by the Elder Poltac, member of the Court of the Undead."
Sarah traced the words with a shaking finger. A weapon, a weapon that vampires feared was being safeguarded by her family. Flipping the page, she found another small note, this one hastily written but still legible;
"Should the undead violate the accord and refuse to continue to honor its term, blood will set the weapon free."
The blank emotionless state that had taken over her mind since James death was suddenly lifted. It was replaced by a growing sense of anger and a desire for vengeance. How many more people would suffer and die like her brother? How many had already been killed? Her family sat on a powerful weapon, one that the undead feared above all else and they had kept it hidden from the world at large. At that moment, Sarah made a decision, she would find this weapon and she would use it to slaughter every last vampire in the city. Then she would hunt them all over the world until every last one of them was destroyed. In her heart, she truly believed that if she could use the weapon and eradicate all of the undead, then the world would know true peace. Humanity would be safe and no one would have to die like James had.
"So you finally found out, not the way I had planned on revealing this." The weary, heavy voice of her grandmother shocked her from her vows of vengeance. She quickly slammed the book shut and stepped back from the altar.
"Sorry, grandma, I couldn't sleep and was just doing some light reading."
Her grandmother snorted in response, "you were always a terrible liar. You get that from your mother."
Her grandmother crossed the room, shuffling to a small padded chair where she took a seat and sighed. "It is a tradition in our family, that when a witch turns twenty one years old, they are entrusted with our most important secret and duty."
"The weapon." Sarah whispered, stepping closer to her grandmother, eager to learn more about it.
"Yes. We have guarded the weapon for two hundred years, we have kept our promise. In the end though, vampires, despite their never ending lives, appear to have short memories."
"Earlier, before dinner, you mentioned the accords were broken. What does that mean exactly?"
"No doubt you have already read Johnathan's record of the deal we struck with the vampire Elders. The promise we made was contingent upon the Elders keeping their end of the bargain. Since James… since the attack happened on our family, the deal has been broken."
Sarah nodded, as if she understood this all along despite just finding out about this secret moments ago. "Does that mean we can use the weapon then?"
"No. To be honest, I have no idea what the weapon even is. Johnathan left no entries on the weapon other than to record the accord we made. For all I know, the damn thing could be rusted to pieces by now."
"If the deal was broken, then we should use it. We should hunt and kill them for what they did."
Her grandmother shook her head sadly, giving Sarah a disappointed look. That stung her deeply, her grandmother rarely used that look and it took some of the wind out of her sails.
"I taught you better than that. Vengeance begets nothing but violence. You cannot solve violence with violence, it just creates more suffering."
Sarah stared at the floor, she knew her grandmother was right. The logical part of her mind was in total agreement but the emotional part of her refused to accept that.
"What happens now?"
Her grandmother shrugged and got up from the chair. She shuffled over to Sarah and pulled her into a hug. Sarah hesitated before embracing her grandmother.
"Now, we patiently wait for things to be made right. The Noble will investigate and will set things back to the way they were, patience is the name of the game."
Sarah nodded as she nestled her face deeper into her grandmother's shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"I know." Was all her grandmother replied with but it was enough. Tears fell from both of them and they stayed that way for a long time, holding each other and trying to find some semblance of healing.