All Hallow's Eve by Wendi Sotis Read Free Book Online

able to attend the Sanun without interrupting the ritual , Lizzy is still my little girl, Darcy. I expect you to follow the modern rules of propriety when in the public to protect all my daugh ters’ reputations .
    “ Another point of which you must become aware is that, though the servants at Longbourn know that we are of high rank in the T ribes, they do not know specifically what positions we hold. They do know that I am an Immun , but not Lead Immun , and they are aware that my wife and daughter are Fili —but nothing else. We do not doubt their loyalty; it is only that if c oerced , they can honestly answer that they do not have that information to divulge. ”
    “ I understand, sir. ” William hesitated to speak further, but his curiosity got the better of him. “Mr. Bennet, my parents had little time to tell me all that I needed to know ; therefore , I have been left with many questions. If you would be so kind to explain to me why most children are not told about the Tribes before they come of age? As far as I know, none of the people whos e families I now know to be a part of the Tribes know that any of this exists. ”
    Mr. Bennet answered, “I n times past , when all within the Tribes gathered together to celebrate whil st the Priestesses performed their rituals , the children were instructed in the ancient culture . A ll kn e w the identit ies of the four Priestesses , as well . But, fairly recently, t here were several occurrences that caused th e s e traditions to end .
    “ As modern times took shape and travel became easier, the members of the Tribes spread out across the world. With each succeeding generation, more of the ancient traditions were lost, except among the descendants of the families of the highest order.
    “And then, s everal generations past, a great evil force quietly bec a me powerful in Europe. These Olcs knew of our ancient rituals, and wished to control them. T he Priestesses at that time understood that they and their descendants were in great danger . T he protection of the ir identities bec a me an absolute necessity.
    “Now, even the Priestesses do not know who two of the others are, though I am told that if they happened to meet, they would recognize each other—probably similar to the way that my mother had recognized Elizabeth as the Destined One at the very moment she was born. While each of the four Priestesses are taught the rituals of the others to ensure that the most important of our traditions w ill be passed down to the next generation should tragedy befall any one of them, it is possible only for the Destined One for each position to carry out the rites they were born to perform .”
    “You said that each Priestess would not know two of the others, sir. I understood there were four?”
    “Yes, but d ue to the precautions, each Priestess and her closest relatives kn o w the identity of one other Priestess . Should one of them die before passing on what she knew to an Apprentice, the other would be notified by the deceased’s closest family member. The search would then commence within the family of the deceased for the Heiress to the title . T he Destined One would eventually be trained by the other Priestess . ”
    “Has a position ever remained vacant ?”
    Mr. Bennet responded , “T hroughout the history of the Tribes, only once ha s a Priestess position remained unfilled until another had been born and was old enough to take on the ritual. The result ing years devoid of the rite having been performed prove d to be disastrous, but nothing could have been done to prevent it. Accidents do happen, even to Priestesses. ” His countenance became grave. “We will not permit that to happen now with the Sanun , Darcy.”
    “We certainly will not, sir.” William extended his hand , and Mr. Bennet shook it. William vowed, “Please know that I will not allow Miss Elizabeth to be harmed—I would sacrifice my life if necessary, sir.”
    “As would I, my boy, as