Page 53 of Autumn Secrets

“Oh my God. The dark bearers were responsible for that?”

“Yes, the dark mages were.”

“Mages?”

“You might prefer the terms witch, warlock or sorcerer, but we call them mages.”

“Okay.”

“As with everything, light and dark mages exist in our world, so don’t necessarily be afraid if you run into one.” Mr Peters smiled. “They’re not all evil.”

“So, what did you mean specifically by ‘evil creatures of the night’?”

“Well, dark bearers come in all shapes and forms. The most common in this part of the world are mages and vampires—”

“Hold on,” I said and held up my hand. “Sorry, are we talking aboutrealvampires here? Like in the movies?”

“We certainly are.”

I swallowed. “Like with fangs and blood drinking and compulsion?”

“Well, yes. Humans have a surprisingly accurate picture of what vampires are and what they can do, except for a few bits and pieces they’ve made up over the years.”

I cleared my throat. “I see. Go on.”

“That’s when the angels of light stepped in. They knew they had to do something, or Lucifer and his followers would win the war. Lucifer’s dark mages were almost unstoppable at that point, so they had to act fast. Angels of light fell voluntarily, mixing themselves with humans, just like their enemies had done, and more Nephilim were created to help stop Lucifer and his followers. This is where we come in, especially you and your family. This is how we came to be what we are.” Mr Peters cleared his throat again.

There was a moment of silence, and I could feel them all looking at me, waiting for me to say something. In my head, I was frantically trying to process everything they’d told me, trying to put it into perspective.

“So, we are…” I swallowed. “Nephilim?”

“We like to call ourselves light bearers, like the dark bearers. We are descended, like many others here on Earth, from angels of light. We guard the seasons, making sure they progress as they should. We all have special powers, unique to us as individuals. However—” Mr Peters glanced at Mum who nodded for him to continue. “You and Helena…” he pointed at me, then Mum “…are part of a very special family among us.”

I gave Mum a quick look from the corner of my eye, then shifted my gaze back to Mr Peters.

“You see, when the angels of light fell to Earth, they made sure the light bearers had a guardian. A very powerful amulet was created to protect light on Earth, and it was bonded to the chosen guardian. If there is a bond between the amulet and the guardian, no evil magic can destroy it, and balance will always remain.” There was a brief pause again, like they were giving me a break to process, before they moved on to the next revelation.

“And the chosen one?” I asked after a few moments of silence, but I already had a feeling of dread about where this was going.

“The chosen one is decided by the angels of light. He or she is the most divine bearer of light on this Earth, and more importantly, will always descend from the same family tree.” Mr Peters added carefully. “Yourfamily tree.”

“My grandmother…” I murmured softly.

“Yes, your grandmother.” Mr Peters smiled.

That’s why I had suddenly remembered my grandmother showing me her secret. It was real; it had actually happened. She had let me see her gift when I was little. She had known my destiny before I did, just like everybody else around me. The only difference was, she hadn’t hidden it from me. I wondered if Mum knew what my grandmother had shown me. Somehow, I didn’t think so, and that made me think that my grandmother probably didn’t agree with Mum’s decision to keep me in the dark.

“You see, without a guardian, the amulet is gradually losing its power. It’s not that noticeable yet, but darkness is slowly taking over. The months have been darker for longer, keeping the light away. The seasons have started to shift slightly. This is the longest we’ve been without a guardian. It has never happened before. Your grandmother was the last one to fulfil her destiny, and now…”

“And now you’re telling me it’smydestiny,” I whispered and felt as if the weight of the world was sitting on my shoulders.

Chapter 17

The world I’d known all my life was suddenly tilting on its axis, as I tried to get my head around what they were telling me.

“I know it’s a lot to take in—” Mum started.

“That’s putting it mildly. You are asking me to believe in something that I only thought existed in fiction. It’s overwhelming. I don’t know what to say.”