The Return: (The Eternity Road Trilogy Book 2)

by Lana Melyan

  “You need to come now. Call Riley and Ned. Tell them to come, too.”

  “Is something wrong? Eleanor, what’s going on?”

  “Fray is here. They both are.” Eleanor hung up and turned to Hanna. “Ruben will take care of Kimberly. You, Riley, and Ned need to keep an eye on Fray. Let him see you, but don’t engage. He didn’t sit next to my father by accident. But the sun is up, and that means there are no vampires to help him. With you around, he can’t do anything. He knows that. This is just a show.”

  “And you?” asked Hanna. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to have a little chat with his nephew.”

  “Eleanor, be careful,” said Hanna. “You know that this isn’t just a show. This is a warning.”

  “So what? I have to sit here and do nothing?” said Eleanor, trying to keep her voice down.

  The next ten minutes felt like forever. When the ceremony was finally over, she stood up and looked back. Alec was heading toward Fray, who was talking to her father. Not far behind them, she saw Riley standing in front of a big banner. Ned was on the other end of the rows, leaning on a tree trunk.

  “Nothing is going to happen to him,” Ruben said.

  Eleanor turned around to see him standing next to Kimberly.

  “Your father will be fine.”

  “I know,” said Eleanor.

  Suppressing her urge to run, she walked toward her dad.

  “Here she is,” said Lindsey as she approached the three men. He pulled her in and kissed her on the forehead. “Congratulations, honey.”

  Eleanor barely hugged her father. As Lindsey let go of her, she locked her hands behind her back, fingers piercing her palms. Eleanor looked at Fray, who gazed at her smugly.

  “This is my daughter, Amanda,” said Lindsey. “I don’t know if you’ve met before. Amanda, this is Alec’s uncle.”

  The hatred was choking Eleanor, but she unclenched her tightly shut lips and forced a smile. “Yes, we’ve met before.”

  “I’m so happy to see you, Amanda,” said Fray sardonically.

  “Oh, I’m sure we’ll meet again, Mr. Wald,” said Eleanor, looking straight into his eyes. “But Alec and I, we have to go.” She turned to her father. “There’s a cake waiting for us. See you later, Dad.” She kissed Lindsey on the cheek and walked away. Eleanor didn’t look at Alec once, but she heard him follow her.

  She led him to the classroom at the end of the corridor, where they had cake before the ceremony.

  “Sorry, no cake for you,” she said, looking at the three end-to-end tables with empty cake trays and dirty paper plates lying on them.

  “Amanda,” said Alec quietly.

  But before he could say another word, she turned around and grabbed him by his clothes. “You don’t get to speak,” she hissed, shoving him toward the blackboard. She swung her hand to hit him, but Alec caught it and pushed back.

  Eleanor sneered. “You hatched quickly.” She fisted her other hand and punched him in the face. Alec’s head tilted back and hit the blackboard.

  “Amanda, stop it,” said Alec. She let go of him. “Let me explain,” he said, taking off his crooked gown.

  “Filth like you doesn’t deserve those powers.”

  “I killed someone you cared about. I’m sorry—”

  “You’re sorry?” Eleanor glared at him. “You think I’ll forgive you because you said you’re sorry?”

  “Of course not. I just want you to know I’m really sorry.”

  “Let’s see how sorry you are. Fray has the daggers. That means someone else I care about might die. Or me.”

  “I’ll never let anything happen to you. Amanda, I know what you’re going to ask. Fray is the only one who knows where the daggers are. He wouldn’t tell anybody. Not even me. But I’m not going to lie to you. Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you. I wouldn’t do that to him.”

  “You wouldn’t do that to him?” Eleanor looked at him, astonished. “He killed your parents,” she shouted.

  “They weren’t my parents,” said Alec. “He hired them.”

  “What?” She stared at him in disbelief, then said. “So it’s okay then?”

  “I didn’t say that—”

  “That’s how sorry you are. You know,” she said, panting with rage, “we have this rule not to harm humans. I’m glad you’re not a mortal human anymore.” She took off her gown, too, and threw it aside. “Now, at least, I can kick your ass.” She sent a blow into his chest. Alec flew back and hit the wall.

  He restored his balance and stepped to her again. “You can do whatever you want. I’m not going to fight you.”

  “Because you know your powers are not enough. You’ll have to learn a lot to match me.”

  “No. Because I know what I did was wrong, and I deserve to be punished.” Alec frowned, his voice became sharper. “But I did what I had to do so Fray would turn me. I had to be like you so I could be with you. I did it because I love you.”

  “Stop lying,” shouted Eleanor. “You knew that you’d turn before you came to Green Hill, before you even met me.”

  “I always knew who you are. I knew everything about you,” said Alec, stepping closer. “I fell in love with you from the moment Fray first told me about you and showed me your picture.” He stopped, his blue eyes piercing hers. “And I couldn’t wait to meet you.”

  “If you knew everything, then you also had to know that I love Craig.” Eleanor pushed him away with both hands. “That he’s the love of my life, and next to him you’re nothing. You killed Melinda not because you wanted to be with me, but because Fray told you so.”

  “No. Fray told me to kill you. But I didn’t.”

  “So instead of killing me, you killed Melinda. Do you hear yourself? Do you expect me to feel better?”

  “No. I’m just saying I didn’t have a choice.”

  “Everybody has a choice. You made yours when you chose Fray.”

  “You don’t understand. Amanda, when I—”

  “Stop calling me that.” She punched him. “Forget Amanda.” She punched him again. “My name is Eleanor. I can’t kill you. Yet,” she said, glaring at him. “But I can make you feel what she felt.” She grabbed the knife from the cake tray and, gazing into his eyes, she stabbed him into his stomach. Moaning, Alec doubled over. She pulled the knife out and took a step back. “Do you know what they did to Craig? I can make you feel that, too.” She raised the knife to stab him in the heart, but someone stronger than her clutched her wrist.

  “Stop,” said Ruben.

  “Why?” Eleanor’s lips trembled. “Why are you protecting him?”

  “I’m not protecting him,” said Ruben calmly. He pushed her hand down. “I’m protecting you.”

  Eleanor looked back. Standing in the classroom doorway, Kimberly stared at her with wide eyes. Eleanor gasped. “Kimberly.” She looked at Alec, pressing both of his hands to his stomach as he slid down the wall and sat on the floor. “Kimberly, you shouldn’t have . . .” Wiping a tear from her face, Eleanor rushed toward her.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. She threw her arm around Kimberly’s shaking shoulders and hurried her away.

  “Stay away from her,” said Ruben, looking down at Alec. “Stop trying to get in her good book. That will never happen. Not just because you’re on the wrong side. She sacrificed herself for the greater good, and everything you did, you did for yourself. You killed someone to get what you want. She’ll never forgive you, if that’s what you’re after. And I think that’s what you’re hoping for. You’re not so stupid to let your imagination go further than that.” Ruben left the room.

  “Eternity is a long time,” muttered Alec under his breath. He remained sitting for a minute, then got to his feet and pulled up his shirt. The wound was almost healed.

  “I see you got your first injury.”

  Alec turned around to see Fray standing in the doorway.

  “It’s nothing,” said Alec. “It’s almost gone.”


  “It must be a very deep cut, to take so long to heal,” said Fray in a casual tone. “But I wasn’t speaking about your physical wound. I meant your emotional trauma.”

  Alec glared at him. “I’m fine.”

  “Are you? I’m sure she showed you who she really is, that she is not the Amanda you knew.”

  “No, she isn’t. She’s much better now. Beautiful, strong, smart. Daring. Everything I desired.”

  “But she is Eleanor, who loves Craig. She stabbed you because she hates you. Aren’t you disappointed? Your heart isn’t broken?”

  “I’m not an idiot.” Alec looked at the blood on his shirt. He picked up his graduation gown. “After what I’ve done, I didn’t expect anything better.”

  “After what you’ve done?”Fray chuckled. “The fight hasn’t even begun.”

  “I understand that,” Alec said, pulling on the gown. “And you can count on me.”

  Fray gazed at him. “I need to know I can trust you. What we’re planning will make everything much worse for you. It’ll make her hate you even more. Are you ready for that?”

  “I said I’m in. I’ll do whatever you need me to do, but on one condition—Eleanor stays alive.”

  “Alec, think what you’re asking for.” Fray’s voice hardened. “If she had the dagger right now, she would have killed you.”

  “You’re right.” Alec nodded. “But in the end, she was glad it wasn’t the dagger she stabbed me with. You know why? Because she would have become a killer, like me. She knows I did what I did because you told me to. It’s not me she really hates, it’s you. I’m not saying she wouldn’t try to hurt me again. But she knows that hurting me will not make her pain go away. You’re the one she wants to kill. You ruined her life, and if she could, she would kill you without a second of hesitation.” Alec paused for a few seconds. Looking at Fray’s frowning face, he stepped closer. “I know you care about me,” he said softly. “And you don’t want anything bad to happen to me. I’m the only human you’ve ever been close to. I care about you, too. You’re the only real parent I’ve ever had. And I want you to know I’ll never betray you. I’m ready and I’m with you. I’ll do whatever it takes. But she stays alive—that’s all I’m asking.” He looked into Fray’s eyes, waiting. And when Fray finally nodded, he spoke again. “You’ve been waiting for Joanne to wake up for all these decades. I can wait, too. I’ll wait as long as it takes for Eleanor to forgive me.”

  Alec left the room, and only when he was about to exit the school did he hear the echo of Fray’s footsteps at the other end of the long, empty hallway.

  15

  Standing next to the podium and still keeping her hold on Kimberly, Eleanor looked at the crowd. Happy, celebrating their first step into adult life, graduates threw their red caps, smiled to the cameras, and hugged their classmates goodbye. There were fewer parents now. Eleanor didn’t find Lindsey among them. Riley and Ned were gone, too, but Hanna was still there, waiting for her.

  “Where’s my father?” Eleanor asked. “Is he okay?”

  “Don’t worry, he's fine,” said Hanna. “Riley and Ned are escorting him home. What about Alec?”

  “Not now,” said Eleanor grimly.

  Hanna turned to Kimberly. “What are you doing here? I thought Ruben took you home.” She looked around. “Where is he?”

  “He’s inside,” said Kimberly.

  “With Alec?” Hanna gazed at Eleanor. “What’s going on? And why are you holding her?”

  Eleanor took her hand off Kimberly’s shoulder.

  “It’s nothing,” said Kimberly. “Look,” she said, pointing at Ruben as he came out of the school entrance. "There he is. We can go now.”

  The four of them arrived at Hanna’s place. Eleanor dashed upstairs the moment they walked inside. When she opened the door to Craig’s bedroom, she heard Hanna’s voice from down the hall.

  “I suppose the conversation with Alec was intense?” she said. “The whole way home she didn’t say a word. Ruben, what happened? She didn’t kill him, did she?”

  “No. He got lucky. The kitchen knife didn’t do the trick, and the dagger was nowhere around,” said Ruben with sarcasm.

  “I knew it.” Hanna sighed. “So, there’s two of them now. Wait. Are you saying she stabbed him?” There was a pause. Eleanor assumed that Ruben nodded. “But after she knew he’d turned, right?”

  “Yes.”

  Eleanor stepped into the bedroom and shut the door. Yes, she knew the knife wouldn’t kill Alec when she stabbed him. But what if she had the dagger? Of course, in that case, Alec wouldn’t just stand there, waiting for her to kill him. But the question was, would she do it? Would she kill him?

  Eleanor sat on the bed and ran her hand over the pillow, thinking of Craig. If only he could be here. She missed him so much. He was the one who could give her some desperately needed comfort.

  The sound of footsteps approached and ceased behind her door, followed by a knock.

  “What?” said Eleanor loudly.

  The door opened and Ruben walked in.

  “Don’t start lecturing me.” She looked away from him.

  “I’m not.” With his hands in his pockets, Ruben moved forward and stopped in front of her. “I saw that you were sorry. I just thought you might want to talk about it.”

  “The only thing I’m sorry about is that Kimberly saw it.”

  “That’s because I got there in time. If you had stabbed him in the heart, you would be sorry for more than that.”

  “How can you say that, after what they did to you and Craig?”

  “Yeah. They tortured us. And it wasn’t the first time.”

  Eleanor stared at him.

  “This surprises you?” Ruben shook his head. “Eleanor, why do you think after all these years we don’t know where the daggers or the transitioning bodies are? Every time we got close to them, the vampires sniffed us out and locked us up. Do you know what they did to Samson? They tortured him for weeks until we found a way to get him out. That’s how helpless we were. But they’re the monsters. We don’t do that, we don’t torture people. If you had stabbed Alec in the heart, it would have changed you.”

  “You mean to say that I would become like them,” said Eleanor.

  “We may be powerful and immortal,” said Ruben, sitting down next to her, “but we’re still humans.”

  “Human or not, Alec is with them. He killed Melinda.”

  “Yes. She didn’t see it coming, she didn’t protect herself, and he stabbed her in cold blood. He’s a killer. You don’t want to be like him. That’s why we’re different. None of us would do such a thing.”

  Eleanor fixed her eyes on her lap and said quietly, “Samson did.” She looked at Ruben from the corner of her eyes. “He’s done it many times. He stopped their transition because they were killers.”

  Ruben stared at her. He stood up. “Eleanor, how can you compare that? Almost all those people were dying in the first place. By turning them, he was trying to save their lives, like he saved me, you, and Craig. Being responsible for our mission, and as a leader, he had to make tough decisions. You think it was easy for him?”

  “I didn’t say that. What I mean is Alec is a killer, too. You said yourself that they are waiting for the transitioning vampires to wake up so they can kill us all.”

  “Alec got powers he doesn’t deserve, and if it comes to that, we’ll kill him. But we’re not going to sneak up on him, like he did, or torture him, Eleanor. We’ll do it in a fair fight.” Ruben sat next to her again. “Eleanor, you’re angry with him, I understand. We all are. But he is who he is because of Fray. He’s just a bug. While Fray is alive, everyone we love, we and our mission are in danger. I want you to concentrate your energy on destroying Fray. He’s using every possible way to distract us, and it’s working.”

  The bedroom door opened.

  “They’re back,” said Hanna. “Riley wants you two downstairs.”

  Riley stood in the doorway of the backyard with hi
s hands behind his back. He turned to face the room at the sound of footsteps.

  “Things are becoming more complicated,” he said, running his hand over his shaved head. The serious tone made his voice lower than usual. “We didn’t expect Fray to just sit there and wait for us to find his coffins, but we didn’t think he’d show up here himself. Now, when Alec has turned,” he continued, coming forward, “it’s two of them out there, and it’s dangerous. They’re not vampires, they can walk under the sunlight, and they don’t need an invitation to get into any house they want.” He looked at Eleanor. “We followed your father’s car and then waited for him to get inside, but it doesn’t mean he’s safe there. Same goes for you, Kimberly.” He glanced at her, and at Ruben sitting next to her. “Fray is trying to keep us occupied. He knows we’ll do anything to keep our people safe. But we can’t afford to guard them twenty-four hours a day. We need to find some other way to protect them.”

  “We need a witch,” said Ruben.

  “We should ask Samson,” said Hanna. “He knows them better. Maybe he could recommend one.”

  “I’ve tried to call him,” said Riley, “but he’s out of reach. They’re probably still in the woods.” After a short pause, he glanced at Eleanor. “I think you should talk to your father. It’s easier with Kimberly because she knows what’s going on. One day he’ll find out who you are anyway. Maybe you should come clean now?”

  “And tell him what, Riley?” Eleanor stared at him. “Hi, Dad. I’m your God-knows-how-many-times great, great-grandmother?”

  “We’ll think about it. We’ll find the right way to do it. And I’ll try to contact Samson later, ask him to find a witch.” Riley waved his hand, signaling that the subject was closed. “Now about the coffins. Those places we’ve been . . . none of us believed those coffins were the ones we’re looking for, but we still had to check, to make sure. Samson thinks those bodies are too important to Fray to hurl around like that.”

  “Then where does he think they might be?” asked Eleanor.