by Shona Husk
What did her future hold?
It was a simple question, but there would be, could be, many paths that would all lead in different directions. Coming here to skate could have erased one possibility. How many tiny choices snowballed into something bigger and obliterated one option?
She tried not to think too hard, she didn’t want to somehow explode the ice rink. That would be hard to explain.
The surface of the ice shimmered. She held her breath and the shimmer vanished.
Damn it.
She slowed down and skated backward, let her mind drift and her gaze soften. The ice shimmered and the man with the gun appeared again. This time she didn’t panic. What else? That wasn’t all her future could contain. That was just one possibility, and not one she wanted to explore.
Show me more.
There had to be more. Through the ice, she could feel where the other skaters were. Her breathing fell into the rhythm of her movements.
Her grandfather appeared. She didn’t know if she wanted to meet him or not, but he was there so he was going to have an impact on her future in some way. There weren’t enough clues in the fleeting images for her to unravel what his role would be. There were no movies of her possible futures, just lots of stills that seemed in no order. Finley flicked by and he seemed to be in Vegas judging from the lights. Mountains. Dirt, lots of dirt. Snow from her fingertips.
She couldn’t hold a single vision long enough to get useful details.
Blood seeped across the ice staining it red.
She stumbled and the vision broke. The ice was white again. She could hear the music and the chatter of the other skaters. Her breathing was hard, too hard for the little she’d been doing.
Alina glided to the side. She needed a drink. Her mouth was strangely dry and her legs were tired as though she’d been training for hours. Sitting near her bag was her mother. On the other side was a bunch of flowers.
Her mother smiled.
Alina couldn’t pretend that she hadn’t seen her mother, so she made her way over. For how long had she been there, watching?
Too long even if she’d only just sat down. Had her mother seen the visions in the ice or were they private, only able to be seen by her?
“Why are you here?” Alina picked up her water bottle and remained standing, even though she needed to sit. Finley had said magic required energy and he hadn’t been wrong. She’d exhausted herself and learned nothing.
“I came to see you. You’re never home.”
“I’m enjoying having a normal life.” She wasn’t anything close to being normal and never would be. She could never go back and she didn’t want to even if someone had offered her the chance.
“I’m glad you’re skating again. I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away.”
“There is a big difference between skating for fun and skating to train and compete.” Somewhere along the line she’d forgotten about that. She didn’t want to compete again. She didn’t want to be one of those people who made that one last grab for a medal and failed spectacularly badly. Better to end high. Be remembered well. Or not remembered at all.
Although, now that she understood her magic it would be easy to win gold every time. The idea held no allure. It still irked her that she didn’t know how many of her wins had been tainted by magic. Probably all of them.
“You like competing,” her mother said as though Alina was a child in need of coaxing.
True, she had once. Now, no. She wanted to experience what else life had to offer. “Liked. I’m not doing it again.”
Her mother’s face fell. “But you’re still young enough.”
Alina shook her head. “It’s not what I want. It’s what you wanted. I’m sorry your father didn’t want you to skate and that he had other plans for you. But I’ve been living your dreams, not mine.”
She didn’t even know what her dreams were. She hadn’t seen anything in the ice that would help her either.
Her mother’s gaze hardened. “Your boyfriend went to see Walter.”
Alina stared at her mother. “Are you following us?”
“I don’t need to. Other people keep tabs on what Finley does. Do you know who he is?” Her mother hissed. “He isn’t like us. He’s part of the ruling family.”
Alina knew that. If her mother was hoping for surprise she didn’t get it. “And?”
“What surgery is he planning? I don’t think it is any of the options suggested. He wouldn’t be afraid of aging, not yet. I tell you who your family is and only a few days later Finley is paying him a visit. What game are you playing?”
“I’m not playing any game. Finley has been looking at getting his ears straightened.” It was a believable lie, but she couldn’t look her mother in the eye. Instead she sat and concentrated on getting her skates off.
Her mother shook her head. “Our family left all that behind over a hundred years ago. We don’t have anything to do with the Albah community.”
“Why? Your father is still interested in magic.” She kept her voice low but there was no one around to overhear.
Her mother stood. “I don’t know who you are anymore.”
“Same. You lied to me my entire life. You hid what you could do, what I can do.” Her life would’ve been so different if she’d known about magic. She’d have gotten gold not silver. She closed her eyes. It was better that she hadn’t been deliberately using magic while skating.
“With good reason.” Her mother bent down. “Magic ruins lives and breaks families.”
Alina held her mother’s gaze. “It ruined your life. Your father ruined your life because he never gave you a choice and you’ve done the same to me.”
Her mother stepped back. “So you’re running to Finley, to rejoin and follow the rules like a willing sheep?”
Alina had never heard her mother speak with such venom. What rules were there? Finley had never mentioned any rules regarding magic except the common sense one of not getting caught using it. “What do you have against the Ryder family?”
“Think about why so many Albah drop away and want nothing to do with them. Why we hide what we are.”
“I know people want to hunt us. I don’t intend to change my ears or suddenly go blond.” There were far too many blonds in L.A. as it was.
Her mother shook her head. “You’re making choices that you don’t know the consequences for.”
“Then tell me. Do you hate the community because your father told you to hate them? You hid from him out of fear, but you never moved us too far away, did you?” Alina stood.
“You don’t understand the sacrifices I’ve made for you.”
“I never asked you to make them.” There must’ve been a time when she wanted this, but she couldn’t remember it. Or had she always been trying to please her mother, particularly after her dad left. She didn’t even know if what her mother had told her was the truth. It didn’t matter now. Her father was dead and surely, she wouldn’t lie about that.
“When Finley tires of you, you’ll have nothing.” She picked up the flowers and thrust them at Alina. “These were here when I arrived. I hope he’s worth it.”
Alina caught them. Some of the bright red petals floated to the ground. Finley had sent her flowers?
Her mother stormed out with quick sharp steps, her head held high.
That wasn’t how she’d wanted that conversation to go. She’d wanted to ask her mother about peeking into the future and how she used magic. It was something they truly had in common. Unless her mother had stopped using magic altogether.
Did it vanish if it wasn’t used for long enough?
Did her mother hate magic so much that she was willing to ignore every temptation? Alina hadn’t known what it was itching inside of her. Now that she knew she couldn’t turn away.
The flowers didn’t smell. They
were bred to be perfect in appearance only. Which they were, or had been before her mother had damaged them. A dozen red roses. She picked out the card and sat down to read it. It wasn’t Finley’s writing but if he’d called up it would be the florist’s.
She didn’t remember mentioning where she’d be, only that she planned on going skating. She hadn’t wanted to risk seeing her grandfather and having him know she was Albah, or worse, his lost granddaughter.
You are beautiful on the ice.
Let me prove I’m Mr. Nice.
You deserve better than him,
The monster in human skin.
She froze. Ice water sluiced through her veins.
Only one person knew she came here and had already seen her skate. And knew she was dating Finley.
Will was stalking her.
She put the flowers down.
What if he was still here watching? If he’d seen Alina and her mother fight, then he knew Alina was now alone. She put on her shoes and picked up her bag. Only then did she let herself glance around, while hoping Will wasn’t watching, before walking away and leaving the flowers on the bench.
Chapter 15
Alina sat on Finley’s sofa, her knees drawn up sipping the chamomile tea. It was meant to be calming. She hadn’t been calm since getting the flowers. Her mother hadn’t been home when she’d gone back, so she’d thrown a pile of clothes in a suitcase and left a message for Finley to pick her up when he finished. Fortunately, today was a short day for him.
If he was worried about the suitcase she’d brought into his house, he wasn’t showing it. There was no way she was staying at her mother’s alone. She didn’t even want to be there with her mother right now. Was she ever going to be safe alone again, or would Will be watching her?
She knew she was quite possibly overreacting. And at some point she would have to go out by herself, but right now she didn’t want to even think about it. It was bad enough that Will probably knew she was here.
Alina sighed and tried to stop her heart from skittering about her chest like a baby rabbit being chased by a cat. She was the rabbit, and Will was the cat. This wasn’t going to end well and Finley had no good news.
“What do you mean your people can’t do anything about him?”
“Exactly that. I sent them all the e-mails I’d been getting and told them about Will, but there’s nothing connecting the two, and he hasn’t done anything as a photographer that would get him in trouble. He knows how to keep his nose clean.”
“Is he a Guardian?” That was her biggest fear. Until she’d learned about the Albah she’d never been a target for anyone. In the card he’d called Finley a monster, not her. If Will was hunting anyone it was Finley.
Finley shook his head. “I don’t think so and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it. And more recently looking into him. He went for the role I got in Out of Control. His family lives over east.” He opened the laptop and logged in. “I figure if he can dig into my life I can poke around his.” He flicked her a smile which she couldn’t return.
Will’s stalking was all because Finley had gotten a role that Will had wanted? “So it’s a jealousy thing?”
“Yeah, I think so. I certainly never used him to keep myself in the media.” He opened a couple windows on his laptop, preparing for an online meeting with the Albah.
“Ugh. So he thinks that if he gets me he’s put one over on you. That’s so gross.” She wasn’t a medal to be awarded to the winner. Finley had warned her about the press from the start, but neither of them had expected Will make it so personal.
“Not to him.” Finley pressed his lips into a thin line as he studied the screen. “Are you sure you want to be here for the meeting?”
She nodded. When he’d told her about the meeting tonight, it had allowed her to forget about Will for a few seconds. “I want to see what happens.”
She wanted to see if she could be part of what they had. Would they accept her given that she didn’t look like them anymore? She tugged a lock of hair over her ears so the straightness wasn’t as noticeable.
“Not much. I try to avoid them.” He glanced at her. “This one is a little different. We have to decide if we are going to go extinct or fight back.” He clicked a few more things. “People have been arguing for and against. Tonight is the last chance to plead the case, then a poll will be opened.”
She hadn’t realized it would all be decided so soon. The Albah could be gone before she ever got to be a part of them. “Do you know how you will be voting?”
His jaw clenched and he closed his eyes. “I thought I did. I used to think it would be better if we just fell apart and vanished, so no one else had to suffer. No one else would be hunted. Now…” He shook his head and opened his eyes. “You lived in the dark and didn’t know what you could do. Albah shouldn’t have to live like that either.”
“Then there is Walter.” Parts of her family liked magic a little too much by all accounts, but they didn’t want to be part of the Albah community.
“Yeah, still a magic user but not wanting to follow the rules.”
She tilted her head. Her mother had mentioned rules too. “What rules? Have I broken them already?”
“I don’t think so. We don’t do magic that will get us in trouble with the law, or reveal that we have magic. My accident was dangerously close to revealing the truth. Fortunately, most people aren’t looking for magic so they pick a more rational explanation.”
Magic hadn’t been her first thought when watching the footage. She’d thought him lucky. Even now when she saw it, it didn’t seem like magic. There were fewer sparkles than she’d expected magic to have, but sparkles would be harder to hide. At least this way magic wasn’t easily spotted.
“So why did my family turn their backs and do their own thing?” Something must have happened. She didn’t want to think that her family had wanted to break those very simple rules, or the one about not creating vampires.
“Who knows? Even if we asked Walter outright, he may not have an answer as it was his grandfather who was last known to the Albah. Maybe there was a falling-out between him and the king. Maybe the distance was too great before the Internet and telephones, so he gave up and it became a bigger story than it was.” He shrugged.
“There’s another reason. I can hear it in your voice and every time you talk about him you hesitate. It wasn’t that talking about getting your ears fixed was weird.” She wasn’t sure she wanted Finley to confirm her suspicions.
“Straightened, not fixed.” He held up his hand. The silver ring on his finger gleamed. “I shook his hand as I left. He flinched. I’m sure the silver burned him.”
Alina tried not to let panic take hold. She knew what Finley was hinting at even if he was unwilling to say it outright. She’d have to. The reason her family had walked away was because they weren’t just making vampires, they were becoming vampires. “You think he’s the vampire.”
“I don’t know. I’ve never met one. Maybe it was nothing and I was just on edge.”
“Or maybe my family had no intention of following the treaty and they’ve known how to make vampires all along.” Surely her mother would’ve said something if her grandfather was a vampire.
“Or that.” He nodded. “I don’t know how common the knowledge of how to make an Albanex was back then. Our records aren’t that great to start with and I don’t know if everyone knew how to make a vampire or just a few knew. I don’t even know how common vampires were back then. Did every family have one? Or were they carefully selected because of their magical ability?”
She sipped her cooling tea, then remembered she could warm it up again. Just a slight push. She grinned as it worked and the cup didn’t explode.
Finley scowled. “What is so funny?”
She started laughing. “I’m sorry. My tea was cold. I warmed it and I smiled witho
ut thinking.” She tried to stop smiling and failed. She bit her lower lip.
He looked at her for a moment. “That’s awesome.” He leaned over and kissed her, then his laptop started making noises. “If you don’t want to be seen, stay there out of the camera’s view and shh.”
She nodded. She wanted to be here, to see what was said, but she wasn’t ready to step in and become part of the Albah community. And Finley wasn’t ready to be introducing her either. Given that this meeting was to help decide the fate of the Albah, it was the wrong time to be introducing lost members. Besides, she could barely heat tea. She wasn’t ready for anything more complicated. What if there was some kind of entry test?
“Are you allowed to have someone here?” Or was she going to get him into trouble?
He just gave her a smile that suggested the answer was no, but that he didn’t actually care. After all his father was the king.
* * * *
“Hi, Dad,” Finley said, trying to sound like everything was going well.
Finley’s father was wearing an old T-shirt as though he was about to go out and do some gardening, not hold a meeting to decide the fate of the Albah, but he rarely dressed up. And Finley was sure his father didn’t own anything remotely kingly. There were no crowns or robes to be handed down, only the responsibility of keeping their people together.
“Glad you could make time. How’s it going?”
Finley wasn’t sure what to say. “I’m guessing no one else is on yet?”
“No. Julian will sort that out.”
Of course he would. Julian had stepped up and was doing all the things that Finley should be doing as heir. Julian would no doubt step up again if and when the time came for there to be a new king. That thought was starting to chafe even though Finley didn’t want that responsibility. This was his family and it was supposed to be his job. Now was the wrong time to start feeling family loyalty. They’d never had any for him. He’d been created to fulfill a need, nothing more.
Not wanting to talk about what was going on in his life, Finley launched into his new theory about Walter. He was glad that Alina had brought it up first not him. He’d had no idea how to break it to her that her grandfather might be undead. “I think Walter Silverman is the vampire.”