The Return: (The Eternity Road Trilogy Book 2)

by Lana Melyan

  Nobody answered.

  A shiver ran down Eleanor’s spine. “Where is Melinda?”

  “Melinda is dead,” said Samson.

  “What? How did this happen?”

  “Alec killed her,” said Riley.

  Eleanor’s voice broke. She pressed her hand to her mouth. “What have I done?”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” said Samson. “One way or another, you had to come to that place to open the Book. Fray planned to kill you after that. We are lucky he used Alec, who has feelings for you. Otherwise, you would be dead, too.” Samson’s cellphone rang. He walked out to the hallway to answer it.

  Hanna stepped to Eleanor, and they hugged. “This time it would ruin me forever if you died,” she whispered. “And imagine what would happen to Craig.”

  Eleanor turned to Craig and looked into his glittering blue eyes.

  “Eleanor, you’re back, and you are alive,” said Hanna.

  “Samson is right, I need some time to process everything that happened,” she said, wiping

  away the tears from her cheeks.

  “That was Amelia,” said Samson as he returned to the room. “The casket is ready. We’ll bury Melinda as soon as it’s here.”

  “Where is she?” asked Eleanor.

  “Upstairs,” said Craig.

  “Take me to her.”

  They climbed to the third floor and entered one of the rooms. As they passed the threshold, Eleanor stopped. The draft from the open windows pulled aside the silky white cover from the body on the long, wooden table. Melinda was dressed in a black gown, her hands crossed on her chest.

  “How did he kill her?” Eleanor asked.

  “He stabbed her,” said Craig. “Kimberly saw it happen.”

  “Poor Kimberly. Her eyes . . . she’s still in shock.” Eleanor moved toward the table but stopped again. “Fray sent Alec to get the Book. It means he trusts him.”

  “Fray trusted him. He wanted him to kill you. But he underestimated Alec’s feelings,” said Craig.

  “Alec thought . . . I gave him hope. I gave him a reason to think it might work between us,” said Eleanor, remembering her last few days with Alec. “Craig, I am sorry, I was ––”

  “I am glad you did. It saved your life.” He walked back to the door. “I’ll be in our room.”

  He closed the door behind him, and she stepped to the table to look at Melinda’s peaceful face. In Eleanor’s memory, it seemed like only yesterday she stood beside Gabriella’s body. How ironic was that? To come back after all this time to face another loss, another sacrifice. For nine years Melinda looked after Amanda. Made sure that she was well fed, neatly dressed, took care of her when she was sick, smiled at her little pranks, teared up at her small achievements. She kept her promise to Amanda’s dying mother to stay with her until she turned eighteen. All this time Melinda was probably also hoping that one day Amanda would become Eleanor and had been looking forward to meeting her.

  Eleanor put her hand on Melinda’s.

  “I’m sorry you didn’t get to know me as Eleanor,” she whispered. “I know I wasn’t just an assignment. I know you loved me. I’ll miss you so much.”

  She stood in silence for a long moment, then she kissed Melinda on her forehead and left the room.

  When she reached her and Craig’s bedroom, she stopped before the open door. Craig was standing in front of the balcony door with his hands folded on his back. He turned around, and they started toward each other. Her body quivered the moment his lips touched hers.

  “We don’t have much time,” whispered Craig.

  “Then let’s not waste it,” she murmured.

  His hand closed around Eleanor’s waist. Craig lifted her a few inches, and, in a flash, they were laying on the bed. Eleanor’s boiling blood pulsed even faster. The heavy thoughts, the room, the castle, the whole world melted away, and there was nothing else but the two of them.

  “If your lips had kissed me only once when I was Amanda, I would have recognized them in a second,” said Eleanor an hour later. They were still in bed. She kept her eyes closed, lying on her back while Craig’s lips wandered around her neck. “Why didn’t you kiss me?” she asked, running her fingers through his hair.

  “You wouldn’t,” said Craig. “I mean, you probably would, but you wouldn’t know why. I was afraid if my kiss made you feel something like that, the inexplicable sensation would only torment you. Besides, what if it wasn’t you? What if it was just one of your great grand-grand-et cetera granddaughters,” Craig grinned before he continued, “who just looked like you?”

  “Didn’t you know that it was me? Couldn’t you feel it?” Eleanor made a serious face and poked him in the ribs.

  “I was nearly sure. I felt it the moment I saw you.” He took her hand and kissed the poking finger. “That’s why I asked Hanna to give you the bracelet. I thought that it might work as a trigger, that if I was right, you’d react to it somehow. And a little while later, you did.”

  She recalled how she had reached for the bracelet every time she met one of the Hunters.

  “But the bracelet . . . what if it wasn’t me?”

  “The bracelet would remain in your family and would one day be yours anyway. I was afraid that I might be confused by the familial resemblance. That’s why I avoided you until you turned eighteen.” He looked into her eyes. “Even then, I missed your eyes so much. But every time you looked into mine, I turned away. I could see I was hurting you. That was the worst part.”

  Craig’s blue irises were glossed with tears. Eleanor rolled him onto his back, and as he closed his eyes, she kissed them.

  “Will you ever be able to forgive me?” she whispered, sitting up.

  “I was angry,” said Craig quietly, “if angry is the right word for what I felt. But not with you. I was angry with Samson.” He pulled up, too, and leaned against the headboard. “I hated him. I wished I could kill him for taking you away from me. But it didn’t last long because I knew I was wrong.” Craig sighed. “I knew he didn’t have a choice. We always think our pain is worse than anybody else’s. He was in so much pain. He started drinking. Losing Gabriella, asking you to die for the mission, losing the Book, the daggers, the powers. It was unbearable to look at him. Besides, he lost Gabriella forever, and I still had hope.” He paused.

  Eleanor moved closer, “Then?”

  “Then, I shut down. Isolated myself from everyone. I spent weeks at the lodge, visiting your parents’ house, waiting for Margaret to show up. Only then did I notice how much she looked like you.

  “Riley and Ruben were trying to convince me to come home, that they needed me, but every time I pushed them away. Ned was going crazy because Hanna had shut down to. She would disappear for days. The castle was like an empty ghost house. Everything was falling apart, because the others were in pain, as well.

  “Then one day I looked around and realized I was wrong. It couldn’t continue like that. So I went to Samson. I told him I was sorry for his loss, for our loss. We got drunk together, had a good cry.” A bitter smile crossed Craig’s face. “We decided that it was time to get back to work. Fray was powerless, but not his vampires. They were still out there and stronger than us.” Craig kissed Eleanor’s hand, clenching his fingers.

  “What did you do?” she asked, wiping her wet cheeks. “How did you fight them?”

  “I know you have questions. But we don’t have much time. Eleanor, I know this isn’t the right moment. With everything going on . . . and you are still confused. But I am leaving tonight. I waited so long, and I need to know. . .”

  “I am not going to lie to you, my coming back––it’s intense. But I want to stay here, with you, for the time we have, and you can ask me anything.”

  “Tell me you love me. That’s all I want to hear.”

  “You know that I—”

  “No, I don’t. That was then. It’s different now. Amanda was a teenager who grew up in a different time, where guys like Alec—”

&n
bsp; “You mean killers?”

  “You know what I mean. Amanda is still a part of you.”

  “Yes, she is.” Eleanor smiled. “And we are both madly in love with you.”

  Craig pulled her closer. “I love you so much. Once again, you’ve made me the happiest man in the world.”

  “Come with me,” said Samson to Riley and Ruben, as Craig and Eleanor left the living room.

  He led them to the library. It was illuminated by the rays of sunlight, penetrating through the stained, arched window. The three of them sat down in the velvet armchairs around a low oval table.

  “Do you think she’s alright?” asked Riley.

  “She is absolutely fine,” said Samson. “And I need you to keep her safe while Craig and I are gone.”

  “That won’t be easy,” said Ruben. “It was a hell of a job when she was Amanda, and now that she is Eleanor, who just got her powers back . . .”

  “She already died once,” said Samson. “I don’t think she wants to do it again, especially now that she knows there’ll be no coming back this time.”

  “And you think that’ll stop her?” Ruben chuckled. “Last thing she remembers as Eleanor is her walking to the scaffold and Gabriella’s funeral, and the moment she comes back, she’s about to attend another funeral. She’s a Hunter, and right now her blood is boiling.”

  “What I’ve prepared for Craig, it’s a gift,” said Samson, leaning forward. “But if something happens to Eleanor, that gift will become a curse. They deserve to be happy after what they’ve been through.” He looked at Ruben, then turned his glance to Riley. “I know that you both agreed to what is about to happen, but Craig and I are leaving today, and I need to be sure that you are certain about your decisions. Riley, it should have been you, not Craig. You are the oldest.”

  “I'm absolutely certain. I don’t want it. Besides, as you said, we owe them that much.”

  Samson turned to Ruben.

  “Maybe I have more years on me than Craig, so what,” Ruben said with a shrug. “He’s like my older brother. Craig is the one you need for this.”

  “Samson.” Riley pierced him with gaze. “I want to ask you the same. Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “Riley, we’ve been through this a hundred times,” said Samson in a tired voice. “I’m sorry if I let you down.”

  “No. I know it’s killing you being here without her,” said Riley quietly,

  On the word killing, Samson took a deep breath. There were so many days he’d wished he could die.

  “You know what I mean,” Riley rushed on. “And I know what you’re thinking. I’m glad you can’t, because we need you to win this war.” He leaned forward. “I just thought that now, since you got your powers back . . . I thought, maybe . . .”

  “It doesn’t change how I feel. Getting the powers back was the only thing that gave meaning to my existence. Fray betrayed us.” Samson's voice remained even, but the muscles on his face stretched. “He ruined our lives, and I needed my powers so I could finish him.”

  Riley hesitated for a moment, then said, “I still think we should tell the others.”

  “Samson,” said Ruben, “you can’t do this to Hanna. She can’t find out what you’re up to at the last moment. If we tell her now, she’ll have time to—”

  “No,” Samson interrupted. “This is a secret mission. If I tell her now, it’ll be all she thinks about, and I need her to concentrate on the job. The same goes for Eleanor.”

  “Eleanor is a part of your plan,” said Riley. “She needs time to make a decision. You and Craig, you can’t drop it on her at the last minute.”

  “Now isn’t the best time either,” said Samson. “She just got back. To make this decision, she has to have a Hunter’s spirit. Eleanor needs to get back on track. She’s not ready yet.”

  Those weren’t the only reasons that kept Samson from telling the others the truth. His plan was based on information from the golden pages, and he was afraid that knowing what he was up to might put them in danger. He blamed himself for Gabriella’s death. If he hadn’t told her the secret of Fray’s power, she would still be alive. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. The less the others knew, the safer they were. He told Riley and Ruben only because this journey, and its result were a tremendous privilege. The right to it belonged to the oldest Hunter, and Samson couldn’t just hand it over to Craig without asking their permission.

  “Right now, we have nothing,” said Ruben. He stood up and walked back and forth. “We don’t know where the Book, or the daggers, are. We checked every suspicious place for the transitioning vampires. We went after him,” Ruben rotated the big globe beside him, “everywhere, and we still have no idea where he hides their bodies.”

  “They are close by, I am certain of it,” said Samson. “He let us follow him all over the world, but never around here. Here, his vampires watched us constantly. He needs those bodies

  close because he plans to attack us right after they wake up.”

  “He did outrun us before,” said Ruben. “And I am sure he is well prepared.”

  “Agreed,” said Samson. “Still, he knows I won’t come to this point empty-handed, that there’s a reason I never told him what’s on the golden pages. He fears them. Just like us, he doesn’t know what to expect.”

  “Yeah, but the difference is that, in this game of hide and seek, we are the ones who are seeking, so we don’t have as many options as they do,” said Riley.

  “Right now, I want you to look for the bodies. They are not far, and the vampires are no threat to us anymore. It’s different now. With our powers back, we have a chance,” said Samson, “There is always a loophole. You’ll find it. Check the places we marked. We know that he keeps some coffins there. Find out what’s in them. And be careful; you know he likes to set up traps.”

  Riley looked up at Ruben. “Let’s start with that gas station at the Mountain Road.”

  Ruben nodded. “Man, I hope there are vampires there.” His fingers clenched into fists. “I’m starting to feel itchy.”

  3

  The plane dove into the clouds, and white mist covered the view behind the small window through which Alec had been staring the whole flight.

  He’d just killed Melinda. Amanda would never forgive him for that.

  He had never killed anybody before. Animals, yes, but never humans. The sensation of a blade sinking into human flesh was new to him. Now, it kept coming back, no matter how hard he tried to get rid of it. His hand clenched into a fist like he was still holding the dagger. Subconsciously, his lips curled up in the same nervous smile, and Kimberly’s short, horrified holler pierced his ears again and again.

  I’ll get over it, he thought.

  There was another unpleasant moment ahead of him. Alec was about to meet Fray, who had given him very clear instructions––kill Amanda. He never planned to do it, but he had been afraid Fray would pass the task to someone else. Alec convinced him that he was never in love with Amanda, that he got close to her only because Fray asked him to. Alec assured him his feelings were for Debra Gordon, that he only broke up with her because he had to.

  The view cleared up. The ground grew closer and the roofs of the small houses bigger.

  Alec had never meant to let Fray down. Even though they didn’t live together, Fray was the only parent he had ever had, and Fray was the one who made Alec the strong, confident, determined man he was now. Whenever he thought about his biological parents, he felt disgusted. He wasn’t sorry for what happened to them.

  When he was six, his drunken father and mother forgot him in a grocery store. When he looked around and realized they were gone, Alec went outside. He ran up and down the street looking for their car, then after a while he returned to the store, hoping they’d come back for him. When he asked the grocer if he had seen his mom and dad, the grocer called the police. That evening the policeman showed him pictures of a man and a woman and asked Alec if he recognized them.

 
A car crash had happened only two blocks away. They didn’t get too far, but Alec always wondered if they would’ve come back for him. He never got over this awful feeling that they left him in the store on purpose. That feeling, mixed with anger at them for being so stupid and careless, made his hatred toward them even stronger.

  Alec ended up in foster care with 7 other children. It didn’t take long before he isolated himself from the other kids. He got sick of hearing their pity stories. Unlike the others, he never wanted to be adopted. If his own parents didn’t love him enough to stop being so careless, how could strangers love and care about him? And even if they could, what if they died, too?

  It was a two-story house that sat on an open land. The owners had a few greenhouses where children worked to grow plants and flowers for sale. Alec mostly spent his free time drawing in a corner.

  The place greatly reminded him of his life with his parents: grown-ups didn’t care what he did, as long as he didn’t bother them. There were only two differences, one good and one bad. The good one was that the owners didn’t drink. The bad one was that where at home he was the only child, here his solitude annoyed the older boys. First, they stole his drawings and ripped them to pieces. Then came the name calling. Eventually they became more aggressive, and when their grudge got physical, Alec grit his teeth and fought back.

  Freedom was all Alec dreamed about. He wanted so badly to run away. But where would he go?

  He was ten years old when he decided to make a few rounds on a bike one night after dinner. There were two bikes in the house, one big and one small. Alec knew that nobody dared to take the big bike without asking Kris. Kris was fifteen. He was the oldest, he had his rules, and he hated Alec more than anybody else. Alec felt the same way about Kris, and to show him that he was not afraid of him, he jumped on the bike and took off.

  While he was passing one of the greenhouses on his way back, something struck him in the head out of nowhere. He fell from the bike. Squinting from the pain, he glanced back. In the dim greenhouse light, he saw three figures walking toward him. Alec forced himself up, got on the bike, and pedaled for the main road. They ran after him. His bike slid onto the sleek asphalt from the dirt road. At the same moment, the headlights of an oncoming car blinded him. Alec lost his balance and collapsed. The braking Jeep hissed and stopped sharply beside him. The passenger door opened and the light inside came on.