I couldn’t dispute that, so I said, “You’re thinking maybe there’s a spell in The Book of Souls to break it?”
“Who knows? It might be my best bet. I wish I had a chance to ask Zephora about what I am, but she was only coherent a couple times, and even then, she wore this creepy smile. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. She is damaged goods!”
“I just hope Darius won’t come after us tonight. I need some sleep.”
“I wouldn’t bet on it…I purposely let it slip that we have a gig lined up tomorrow night at the Vic. He had no problem crashing our last show, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried it again.”
Relief and dread battled for control of my mind. On one hand, I appreciated the chance to get a good night’s sleep. On the other, I didn’t look forward to seeing another gang of vampires attacking us on stage.
“I hope they come,” Nolan said eagerly. “I’ll be ready this time.”
I didn’t want to think that far ahead. “First things first; getting The Book of Souls.” When he didn’t reply, I felt myself drifting off to sleep. The prospect of regaining the book offset the potentiality of battling any vamps Darius might send after us tomorrow night.
* * *
Some time later, I rose to use the restroom, but the light was on inside, and I had the overwhelming urge to check on Kendall and Brandon, so I stopped outside the doorway of my guest bedroom and peered inside.
They lay in the middle of the room on a sheet, blankets covering both of them as Brandon lay asleep with his right arm around Kendall’s shoulders, while she nestled her head against chest, watching him sleep with a delightful smile. Then her facial expression slowly transformed from silent joy to confusion. Her smile vanished as she nudged her nose closer to his neck to take in his scent. She closed her eyes, savoring his fragrance as though she’d never encountered a smell so intoxicating.
A second later, her eyes snapped open. Sharp teeth protruded from her open mouth. She squirmed closer to him, centering her gaze on his neck. Kendall tilted her head back and bared those razor edged teeth, prepared to sink them into his flesh.
“Hey!” I said and rushed into the room.
Kendall swung her head toward me and hissed as she scrambled to her feet.
Brandon shifted and woke up groggily. “What’s going on?” he asked, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles.
I ignored him and set my gaze on Kendall. “What were you doing?”
Enraged, she snarled and sized me up and down, looking as though she recalled seeing me at some point in her past and tried to remember when and where.
“It’s me. Serena. Your best friend.” I prepared to defend myself but hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
She gasped for air as though fighting every inclination to attack me. Her crazed eyes jittered in every direction as she processed my words.
Brandon shuffled on the floor and scooted away from Kendall as he looked on, startled by the stare-down taking place before his eyes.
“Remember me?” I asked Kendall.
Her strained expression softened, her breathing slowed, and her jagged teeth retracted. Kendall glanced on either side of her with a puzzled expression. “What just happened?”
“You vamped out,” Brandon said, arching his back against the wall behind him with gleaming eyes. “Big time!”
When she set her eyes on mine, I nodded in agreement with Brandon. “You were going to bite him. You weren’t yourself. You looked…like a monster.”
Kendall flinched at my final word. She raised a hand to her mouth and placed a few fingers along the upper row of her teeth. They must have felt a little sharper than she’d noticed before because she immediately withdrew her fingers. Shocked but with an apologetic expression, she spun towards Brandon with unexpected swiftness.
He straightened against the wall as though hoping he could push it a few feet back just to let him get that much further from her. “Don’t…”
She looked sullen yet appalled by her behavior. “I didn’t mean to.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, drawing her attention back towards me. “You did.”
“Yeah,” Brandon said. “All you had to do was ask. Remember? We’re all in this together.”
Kendall nodded. “I’m sorry.” She approached him.
He extended a hand, keeping her at arm’s length. “No, don’t.”
She stopped immediately. “But—”
“You have to get a handle on it,” I said, meeting Brandon’s approving gaze.
“But I don’t know how!” she blurted out.
“I know it’s asking a lot,” Brandon said, “but otherwise, we can’t trust you.”
“I didn’t even know I was doing it until you caught me. It just happened.”
I heard the floorboards creak behind me, and I turned around to find Alexis behind me. “Everything’s fine,” I said. “Go back to bed.”
Alexis, ever the nosy neighbor, looked over my shoulder and spotted Kendall and Brandon. “Did you try to bite him?” Far from disgusted, she found it humorous. “Awesome! Who’s making the popcorn?”
“We’ve got this,” I said in a stern voice. “Go back to sleep.”
Grinding her teeth at my command, Alexis held my stare with a determined one of her own. “It’s your house, so…okay.” She headed back to the living room.
A troubling thought entered my mind. I entered the bedroom and closed the door behind me. I prepared to speak in a lower tone. “You didn’t know you were going to bite Brandon? Tell me about that.”
Brandon caught my eye. “You think…” He nodded at the spot Alexis had just inhabited. “You think she used her mental mojo on Kendall? But why?”
The idea made my shoulders crimp. “I don’t know. Sometimes, I feel I can trust her. Other times, I wonder if she’s being a double agent.”
“Do you remember why you got the idea to bite Brandon?”
“No. It just came over me. It’s not like I was trying to prevent myself from doing it. It just popped into my head, and I couldn’t say no to it.”
“Has that happened since you were turned?”
“Just that once when Brandon first gave me a taste. Do you think I was remembering that, and being so close to him made it too hard to ignore? I just had to have him—”
“Yeah,” Brandon said in a deep voice while puffing out his chest in humorous fashion. “I get that a lot.”
“Women are always trying to bite your neck?” Kendall asked.
“It’s not my fault they can’t control themselves around me. Even Alexis couldn’t help herself.”
“She froze your nuts. If that’s what you call foreplay—”
“Anyway,” I said to Brandon, breaking up their banter. “It’s possible drinking your blood instinctively persuaded Kendall to attack you, so we can’t rule it out.” I returned to my uncertainty regarding Alexis’s intentions. “Did you see or hear Alexis near your room?”
“No.”
“Did you see which direction she came from when she was behind me? Did it look like she came from the living room or the bathroom?”
“The bathroom, I think.”
That unsettled me. Alexis may have crept into the hall, pushed her thoughts into Kendall’s mind, only to tiptoe to the restroom when she heard me heading in her direction. Then she exited the bathroom as though she hadn’t heard the disruption in the second bedroom.
Brandon looked convinced of our suspicions; he drew closer to Kendall, looking more at ease. “You want me to keep an eye on her? I don’t regularly have any abilities, so she might underestimate me.”
“Great idea,” I said. Then I said to them, “You need to learn how to deflect her thoughts.” I explained how I always felt a pluck in my mind every time Alexis tried to enter my head. Then we went over some exercises that would make it difficult for Alexis to intrude in her mind.
“You think she’s working with Darius and Zephora?” Brandon asked.
“I hope n
ot.”
“What about Celestina?” Kendall asked. “Do you think Alexis can use mind-control on her?”
“I don’t think so. My niece may be immature, but if Alexis tried to manipulate her, my niece wouldn’t allow it to happen…unless she wanted to. She loves her mother, but I think she can be stubborn.”
“So now what?”
“We can’t change our plans based on our fears. Nothing changes. Get some rest.” I turned to Kendall and waved my finger in her face. “And no biting!”
She cracked a smile.
Although I spoke in a sarcastic tone, I didn’t reveal the underlying seriousness in my command…because I only now realized my trust in Kendall had begun to waver.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The next morning, I woke up to find Lulu lying atop the blankets covering my feet, eyeing the door, as though daring any unwelcome visitor to step through the doorway.
“Hey, Lu,” I said, watching her…watching me with a pleasant smile. “Who’s the best supernatural crime-fighting doggy on the planet?” When she stretched and stepped across my body to meet me face-to-face, I took her in my arms and hugged her. “Don’t be silly. It’s not Scooby Doo.” She licked my face and I couldn’t help but laugh as I playfully pressed her against me. “Bet you gotta go outside, huh? Okay, afterwards, we’ll get you some food and water. Sound good?”
She jumped off the bed, looked at me, and then directed her nose at the floor where Nolan had slept. Now only a sheet, blanket, and pillow remained. Then Lulu stared at the bedroom door, indicating that we should follow my plan of action.
There was a knock at the door.
“Come in,” I said.
Celestina opened the door. “Mom’s making breakfast. You want some?”
“Really?” I asked, shocked that Alexis had taken to familial parenting duties.
A moment later, Kendall appeared beside her. “She’s making pancakes.”
That disturbed me a little. “She knows she can’t use vodka as a no-stick substitute for Pam, right?”
Kendall chuckled and placed a hand on Celestina’s shoulder. Then her expression grew bitter. “Maybe not. I should probably check…just to make sure.” She spun around and headed in the other direction.
“I like Kendall,” Celestina said. “I’m glad she’s your friend.”
At least my niece had good instincts. That surprised me. I couldn’t imagine living day-after-day under the difficult direction of our evil mother, a person who invited Zephora into this realm. That Alexis turned out only somewhat maladjusted was an attribute to her mental and emotional fortitude. I didn’t agree with many of her opinions, but I respected her toughness and the love she had for Celestina.
“Hi, Lulu!” said Celestina with a smile. She approached the bed, and Lulu met her halfway, eager to lap up as much affection as possible. “You’re a good girl, aren’t you?” My niece slid her palm across Lulu’s head. “Aunt Serena told me you defeated an ancient vampire.” When my dog wagged her tail, Celestina grinned. “You’re so cuddly. She’s, like, the sweetest dog ever. I think she likes me.”
“You’re hard not to like.” I used that as a prelude to discuss a more serious matter. “Yesterday, do you remember when you pressed me against the wall?”
Celestina removed her hands from Lulu as though she’d burned her and feared the harm that had brought on.
“Do you remember?” I asked, not to punish her, but to get her complete attention.
She stepped back and reluctantly met my eyes. “Yes.”
“How did you see me hit your mother? You weren’t even in the room?”
Celestina shrugged. “I don’t know. I just…turned into Mom.”
“What do you mean?” The scent of eggs, bacon, and pancakes drifted to my nose. It seemed Alexis was a great cook, and although I wanted to follow that scent, I found it more important to get some answers from Celestina.
“I saw you looking at me. Then you hit me, and I felt how much it hurt.”
I stared at my niece, unable to comprehend how she’d somehow inserted herself into her Alexis’s body…while awake. “How did you do that?”
“I don’t know. I just did it.”
I trusted her, but I still didn’t understand how she accomplished that feat. Still, no matter how much I sought an answer, I didn’t want to harass her into hating or avoiding me at every turn. Regardless, I had to confront her on another issue, one that I needed an answer for. “I can’t pretend to comprehend how that happened, but I want to know how you pinned me to the wall.”
Her face clouded over. “You hurt Mom, and I was angry, and then you hit me…I mean you hit Mom.”
I nodded, trying to follow her logic. “Yes, but how did you pin me to the wall? Each witch in our line has three gifts. Yours are reincarnation, premonition, and shapeshifting.” I hesitated, hoping she’d fill in the silence, but she didn’t. “So how could you do that…to me?”
“I…” She looked perplexed. Unable to grasp an explanation, she shook her head, frustrated.
Within moments, the floor began rumbling under my bed. A couple framed photos of me and Grams fell to the ground.
“Stop,” Celestina said. She plugged her ears with her palms. “Don’t make me say how!”
Although the unexpected earthquake frightened me, I hurried over to Celestina and hugged her, letting her know that, while I was curious how she had rendered me immobile, I didn’t intend to punish her. Within moments, the ground no longer rolled under us. “Well, that was exciting.” I curled my niece further into my grasp and kissed the crown of her head.
Only now had I realized that Lulu had returned to my bedroom, only to run in a circle, chasing her tail, obviously worried about what had just occurred. “Easy, Lulu. Relax. It’s okay.”
My dog stopped, looked up at Celestina, and whined. Then she glanced at me before turning her attention back to my niece. She pawed at the carpet in front of Celestina and barked, not in a menacing way but one in which she made it clear that she knew that Celestina had caused the eruption.
“Good girl, Lu!” I released my niece, went over to Lulu, and picked her up. “You’re my little supernatural detective, aren’t you? You must have plenty of secrets, don’t you?” She rested her chin on my forearm and wagged her tail, feeling secure now that she’d entered my grasp. I kissed her again.
“Well,” I said, looking at Celestina. “That’s yet one more mystery I hope you’ll fill me in on someday.”
Brandon stampeded over to my bedroom with bed hair and sleepy but frightened eyes. “Did you feel that?” He pressed both hands against the doorway as though doing so would keep it stable from aftershocks. “There was an earthquake. How is that possible? We’re not in Cali!”
“We’re on a major fault-line,” I said. “The New-Madrid. You haven’t heard of it?”
“Huh?” he asked, absent-minded. “There aren’t earthquakes in Illinois. Are you nuts?”
“In the early 1800s, there was a quake here that rattled windows in Washington D.C.”
“Earthquake!” shouted Alexis from the other room, followed by a similar sentiment from Kendall. A moment later, they came up behind Brandon. “Was it an earthquake?” Alexis asked, collecting her daughter and pressing her close.
“What’s with all the noise?” Nolan yelled from the floor unfazed by the racket. “I’m trying to sleep. We got a gig tonight!”
He’d been so quiet and oblivious to everything around me that I’d almost forgotten about him. How could he have slept through so much racket? To assure everyone that we were all right, I said, “Alexis, thanks for making breakfast, but I hope the bacon doesn’t burn.”
She remained in place for a couple seconds, probably to ascertain whether an aftershock was imminent. Feeling none, she sniffed the air. Her eyes went wide. She released her daughter and rushed past Kendall and Brandon.
“Is that true?” asked Brandon. “About the fault line?”
“Look it up.”
“Breakfast is served!” Alexis shouted from the kitchen. “Who’s ready for the best breakfast west of the Mississippi?”
Kendall said, “We’re east of the Mississippi.”
“Oh,” she said, undeterred by her error. “Well, that too!”
* * *
While driving back to the Schaumburg District Public Library, Nolan checked for online news that might mention a story about what occurred last night. But neither he nor anyone at home had found anything related to that incident. Since the security guards or staff members might once again be working this morning, I changed into a non-descript blouse and blue jeans. Then I tied my hair into a knot and put on a Cubs hat as well as wore glasses to dissuade staff members from giving me any extra attention.
Around noon, I parked my car in the library parking lot, and we headed towards the entrance. Noticing that Nolan hadn’t kept up with me, I turned back to him.
He strolled toward me with a slow gait. His face looked pale.
“Are you okay?” I asked, rushing toward him.
“I’m just tired.” He waved off my concern.
“You look like you’re going to faint at any moment.”
He smiled. “That’s crazy talk.” However, when he took his next step, his thighs didn’t have enough strength to keep him upright. He swerved on the sidewalk and fell into my arms.
I hadn’t expected to carry the brunt of his weight, which titled us to the side before I managed to hold him so he stood tall before walking him to a metal bench against the side of the building about twenty feet away.
Although I’d watched him eat breakfast, I presumed that he drew half of his strength from the food humans consumed and the second half from other supernatural creatures. “You need…” Without further thought, I took his hand in mine, and although I felt him try to jerk his palm away from me, I held tightly, determined to give him what he needed.
He instantly straightened and turned toward me. “You can’t keep doing that. I’m killing you.”
“Heavy smokers lose years from their lives. The same goes for those who damage their liver by drinking too much. And I’m not damaging any body parts. I’m just—”
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