“I’ve been here before,” I said, cutting through the silence of the car.
“You have a real gift for stating the obvious,” Lacey piped up from the backseat. I cut my eyes in her direction. Her face shifted from pale yellow to green with each bump in the road. I smiled.
“Uh, we were just here,” Kayla said, glancing over at me like I was crazy. “Your amnesia hasn’t gotten worse, has it?”
“I’m not talking about then,” I said, staring out the window. “I mean before that. I’ve been here, before this trip.”
“When?”
“I don’t know.” I stared out at the lit-up shops lining the sidewalks. “But I have.”
“You mean, before before?” Erik asked, leaning forward and putting his hands on the back of my seat.
“I think so,” I said. “I can’t really remember.”
“Then why do you think you’ve been here?” Lacey asked.
“Everything feels…familiar. Like that shop over there?” I pointed out the window as we passed a storefront filled with bins of candy. “I remember stealing fireballs from the back corner and running down that sidewalk.”
“Wow, that’s specific,” Kayla said. She slowed the car to a near stop. “You wanna pop in and see if you remember anything else?”
“What?” I stared at her.
“Go inside. Maybe it’ll jog your memory.”
“Um…” I desperately wanted to go inside that store, to get even one complete memory of my old life back. But now wasn’t the time to focus on me. “I can’t.”
“What? Why not?”
“Because, that’s not why we’re here.” I blocked the bombardment of images flooding my mind. “We’re here to get Chance back.”
“We can do both, you know?” Erik was still clinging to the back of my seat, whispering in my ear. “There’s time.”
“I—I can’t. Not now.”
Kayla picked up speed. “But—”
“—let’s just drop it, okay?” I stared out the window as more and more hazy, unfinished images from my unknown past charged at me.
“Fine.” She floored the gas, the lights and sounds of the city blurring into a mesh of distortion as we sped away.
“And try not to kill us before we get there, okay?” I death-gripped the tiny handle in the roof of the car as we entered the Holland Tunnel yet again.
“Yeah,” Lacey said from the back. “I doubt your mom wants my dinner all over her car.”
“Take it easy.” Kayla gunned the engine, speeding up to cut someone off. “I could do this in my sleep.”
“We’d probably be safer,” Erik said.
“You, too?” Kayla turned to look at him.
“Ah, watch the road, please,” I begged, some of Lacey’s carsickness rubbing off on me.
“Why don’t you worry about pulling this ‘hybrid destroying the world’ thing off,” Kayla said, her focus back on driving. “Leave the NASCAR track to me.”
Lacey gurgled from the backseat. “I feel safer already.”
It felt like we had never left Liberty State Park as we parked the car and climbed out. The four of us followed the same path as before as we made our way to the bridge to Ellis Island, only this time, Chance wasn’t there leading the group. My heart ached just to see him again, to know that he was at least still alive. As we stepped onto the bridge that led to what could possibly become our final resting places, a dark cloud of dread filled the air, following me around, just waiting to unleash its drops of acid rain and destroy our ridiculous plan. I don’t know why I thought such a crazy idea would work. Lying to strangers about who—or what—I really am was one thing; trying to get a monster like Zyris to believe I knew something I didn’t was completely different. I had no idea if I could pull it off. Or how to pull it off. All I knew was that I had to try.
We stepped onto the island and headed to the abandoned construction lot in the far back corner. Lacey stayed behind the rest of us, the scent of her blood letting me know exactly how scared she really was. She was a master at putting on a tough exterior, but inside, she was just like the rest of us: filled with fear.
That was the one thing that the four of us shared, that fear. Each of us held a different ability, a trait that made us stand out from the rest. But fear linked us, as I imagined it linked every person. It was a powerful, dangerous emotion. It could kill you, if you let it. Or, it could help you survive.
I was praying for the latter to prevail tonight.
I could smell death as we stepped into the loose brown dirt of the site. It hit me hard in the face, forced in by the rushing wind coming off the choppy Hudson River. Instinctively, I stood firm in front of my friends, scoping out the area in search of the source.
“It’s just me,” Aldric said, stepping from the shadows. He was dressed in much more modern clothing than he typically wore, a black T-shirt with black leather jacket and jeans. Even though he was a thousand years old, he still had the youthful good looks of a model—if you could look past that whole ancient vampire thing.
“I didn’t think you were coming?” I said, recalling his demeanor on the phone a few minutes ago.
“I told you I would be here,” he said, his eyes scanning the darkness around us. “I’m here.”
“Well, thanks.” I tore away from our awkward moment. “I’m just ready to get this over with.”
“Exactly how are you gonna tell Zyris about this whole vampire-annihilation thing, anyway?” Erik asked.
“She already knows,” I said. “Aldric told her.”
“Well,” Aldric spoke up, “not exactly.”
“What do you mean, ‘not exactly’?”
“I told her that you know about the prophecy. I didn’t tell her that you’ve concocted this little scheme, claiming to know who the hybrid is.”
“Why not?” The anger I’d held for him earlier began to rear its ugly head again.
“Because,” he said, shifting his weight like a nervous child. “I thought I would let you drop that bombshell. No reason I should have all the fun.”
I cut my eyes at him. “Sarcasm? Now?” He smiled. “Fine, whatever. I’ll tell her myself.”
“So,” Lacey said. “You’re just gonna walk up and be all like, ‘Hey crazy lady, we know this hybrid guy who’s gonna try and kill you….Wanna trade him for Chance?”
“Something like that,” I said. “Only, I’ll try not to sound like Pretty Little Liars when I say it.” Sometimes my TV memories came in handy.
She tossed her ponytail. “Well, we can’t all be perfect.”
Kayla made a gagging noise. “I’m gonna be sick.”
“Serves you right for your crazy ass driving,” Lacey said. “I think you did most of it on purpose.” Kayla’s mouth curled up in a wicked grin.
“Will you guys knock it off?” The seemingly never-ending Headache from Hell was back. “I need to think.”
“There’s not really anything to think about,” Kayla said. “We go in, tell the biggest lie of our lives, and get out. Cakewalk.”
“Yeah, cakewalk,” Lacey mocked. “On broken glass.”
“She’s right.” My head pounded relentlessly. “This is a stupid idea.”
“Yes, it is,” Aldric said. I almost lunged for him right there.
“Maybe it is,” Erik said, “but it’s the only one we’ve got. There’s not enough time to think up anything else.”
I ran my hands through my hair, which had definitely seen better days. “This is so frustrating.” I took a page from Aldric’s How to Handle Stress handbook and began pacing, my shifting feet stirring up dust that was instantly carried away by the wind. “I should’ve listened to you and Sebastian, Aldric.”
“Sebastian?” Aldric practically fell over himself to get to me.
“Yeah. He said it was too dangerous to g
et tangled up with Zyris. You did, too. I’ve just been too stubborn to listen.”
“Ava.” Aldric took me by the shoulders and turned me to face him. “I need you to tell me everything Sebastian said to you about Zyris.”
“What? Why?” I had to admit, he was scaring me a little.
“He can’t be trusted, Ava. Ever.”
“You think I don’t know that?” I squirmed from beneath his hands. “I know how evil he is, Aldric, remember?”
“Of course I do. I was there, too.” A dark sadness filled his eyes. “But there are things about Sebastian you have yet to learn.”
“Really? It’s hard to believe he’s worse than my imagination makes him out to be.”
“Believe it.” He was looking at me but not looking at me, his thoughts elsewhere. “I’ve been all over the world in my lifetime, Ava. I’ve encountered countless people—both living and unliving—who were lethal.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “Get to the point, please.”
“Of all those monsters, those who killed for pleasure…Sebastian is worse than any I’ve known.” His eyes focused on me again. “That’s my point.”
“Okay, I get it. He’s pure evil. The devil with fangs.”
“Make jokes if you must, Ava. But be warned that trusting him, in any capacity, is very foolish.”
“I’ve already told you, I don’t trust him. I’ll never trust him.”
“Good. But I still need to know what he said about her.”
“It’s more what he didn’t say. I got the feeling that he and Zyris both want the same thing.”
“They did.” I watched as he took a page from that same handbook and started pacing. It was creepy, because it was the first time I realized that I probably looked the same way when I did it. “Zyris felt that Sebastian was wasting too much time putting their plan into motion, however.”
“Yeah, he told me that. Apparently she was ready, he wasn’t, I guess.”
More pacing; I was starting to get dizzy again. “Zyris was unhinged, even back then. She was too desperate to set their plan in motion. Sebastian felt they needed to wait.”
“Aldric, I know all this already. What does any of it have to do with what they’re up to now?”
“I don’t know, yet. But it can’t be good. Not when it comes to Sebastian.”
“Now that’s not a very nice thing to say about an old friend.” Sebastian’s words halted Aldric’s stroll down memory lane as he appeared through the shadows like an undead ninja.
CHANCEENCOUNTER
Jesus!” I yelled, jumping back as Sebastian stepped out into the open. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“Forgive me, Ava,” he said with a creepy smile. “That wasn’t my intention.”
“Just a bonus, I suppose?” Aldric said, seeming overly tense, even for him.
“You know me too well, Aldric.” Sebastian stood in front of his “friend.” I could see the history between them, love and hate mixing with a growing indifference.
“A few centuries helps with that.”
“Yes, well, some things have changed over the last one, haven’t they?”
“Hmm.”
“What are you doing here, Sebastian?” I asked. “You’re not really my favorite person right now.”
“Be that as it may, Ava,” he turned his attention to me, “I’m afraid that you must endure my presence a bit longer. At least until this little transaction is finalized.”
“What?”
“Why are you involved in this ‘little transaction,’ Sebastian?” Though it was difficult to see, there was fear on Aldric’s face—which didn’t help quell my own anxiety.
“Oh, I think you know, friend.” I watched Aldric’s face as Sebastian spoke. I had gotten pretty good at reading his expressions over the time I had known him. And right now? He was definitely hiding something.
“Why don’t you share with the rest of the class?” Erik said. He was standing behind me with Lacey and Kayla, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked calm and disinterested, but I knew him; being this close to Sebastian had to have been driving him insane with rage. I felt bad for him, for Lila’s unnecessary death. I said a silent prayer that he would stay calm and not do something stupid that could get us all killed.
“In due time, young man,” Sebastian said. “Everything will be brought to light soon enough.”
“Speaking of due time,” I said, stepping between him and Aldric, “can we get on with this, please?”
“A wonderful idea.” Zyris emerged from the darkness just as Sebastian had done. I probably would have jumped again, had it not been for who followed her out of the shadows.
“Chance? Are you okay?” I wanted to rush over to him, to make sure that he hadn’t been hurt, but I didn’t. The entire scenario was eerily similar to that night in the clearing. I felt as helpless as I did then.
“He is perfectly fine, Ava.” Zyris joined me in the middle of everyone else. “No need for your concern.”
“I’d like to hear it from him.” I stared her down. I was scared, but no way was I backing down.
Zyris smiled. “Of course.” Her eyes still on me, that unnerving smile still on her face, she spoke to Chance. “Mr. Caldon, would you mind telling everyone how you are?”
“I’m fine, Ava.” He didn’t look at me when he said it, but I looked at him. He was several yards away, the river and towering skyscrapers of New York at his back, a couple of Zyris’s walking-dead henchmen flanking him. I could clearly see his face in the moonlight, his eyes a bright gold mixed with their normal, human jade. In all appearances, he looked the same.
But I knew he wasn’t.
There was nothing behind his eyes. No emotion, no soul. He was staring straight ahead, watching Zyris like a hawk. She did something to him, somehow. It wasn’t Chance. At least, not the one I remembered—human or vampire. Seeing him like that scared me more than anything.
“Thank you, Mr. Caldon,” Zyris said. “As I said, and as you yourself can see, he is perfectly fine.”
“You call that fine?” I gestured toward Chance, the vampire inside of me fighting for release. “What did you do to him?”
“She didn’t do anything to me, Ava.” Finally Chance looked at me, his haunting eyes making me uncomfortable. “I’m fine.”
“You can’t lie to me, Chance Caldon. I know you too well.” That was a lie. I honestly had no idea who he was now. I couldn’t swear that Zyris had actually done something to him, or if he was just becoming more and more comfortable being a soulless monster.
“You used to.” There was no inflection, no emotion in his words. It was something Vampire Chance would say.
“I still do.” I took a few steps in his direction. The vampire guards inched closer to him, so I stopped.
“I believe you are close enough for conversation, Ava,” Zyris said.
I wanted to tell her to mind her own business, to go away and leave us all alone, but I was too worried about Chance to waste more time. “What did she do to you, Chance?” It hurt not being able to go to him, to hug him and tell him that I still loved him. “And please stop saying she didn’t do anything. Because I know you’re lying.”
“Fine,” he said, “I won’t say it. But it’s the truth. Whether you believe it or not, it’s the truth.” He was staring me down as he spoke, but I had never felt farther away from him.
“I’m here to help you.” I was fighting back tears with every word. “I’m here to take you home.”
“I am home.”
No way I heard him right. “What?”
“I said, I’m home, Ava. I’m home. This is where I should be.”
“No, you’re not. This is not where you should be.” I couldn’t stop the tears, which only made me angrier. “She’s tricked you, Chance. Or brainwashed you or some
thing. She’s made you think that you belong with her.”
“No.” His features were hard, the muscles of his face and neck tense and bulging. “I know this is where I belong.” He finally stepped toward me. “I’m a vampire now, Ava. I’m not part of your world anymore.”
“I’m a vampire, too, Chance. I’m a part of this world. And so are you.”
“No, you’re not, Ava. I wish you were, believe me. I wish you wanted to be with me, really be with me, forever.” I wiped tears from my cheeks, unable to speak I was in such shock. “But you turned me down, remember?”
“I didn’t, Chance. I didn’t turn you down.”
“You didn’t say yes. It’s the same thing.”
“No it’s not.”
“Then why won’t you come be with me? With us?” His face lit up, a light returning to his eyes, though not the same as before. “It’s amazing, Ava. Since this happened to me, I’ve felt out of place, like I should have died that night in the woods.”
“Don’t say that, please.”
“It’s true, I should have.” He moved even closer to me, close enough that I could almost reach out and touch him. “But I didn’t.” His expression changed. “I was reborn, Ava. Reborn into a world where I am finally accepted, where I don’t have to hide what I really am.”
“How can you say that, Chance? You have to hide what you are from everybody.”
“Not here, I don’t. I can be myself. It’s an amazing feeling.”
I shook my head, refusing to listen to any more. “You’re not thinking straight.” I cut my eyes at Zyris. “I don’t know how, but I know she got to you.”
“Could you two save the After-School Special for later?” Lacey said. “I really don’t wanna be out here all night.”
Zyris took a deep breath, smiled and turned to Lacey. “An excellent idea,” she said. She focused in on Lacey, her eyes swirling; I knew she could smell her blood. “Perhaps you would care to join me, human?”
Lacey stammered. “Um, I, ah—”
“—stay the hell away from her.” I moved between them, ignoring the sweet scent that Zyris was after. “You’ve done enough damage.”
Blood Awakening Page 27