Balance (The Balance Series Book 1)

by Janelle Stalder

  The doors slid open revealing the main hallway to his home. Caleb could already tell that his father wasn’t there. He walked briskly down the hall to the main room where he found Kellan reading a book.

  His brother looked up in surprise at Caleb’s entrance, and then quickly smiled. “Hey bro, what’s up?” he asked, nodding his head in Caleb’s direction.

  “Where is Dad?” Caleb asked, not wanting to waste time. The sooner he could get back to Vi the better.

  Kellan shrugged and looked back down at his book. “I haven’t seen him all day,” he said casually.

  Caleb strode over to Kellan, smacking the book across the room, hitting the far wall with a bang. “What the hell was that for?” Kellan asked, sitting up.

  “I asked you a question, and I expect you to answer it truthfully.”

  “I said I haven’t seen him, what more do you want?” Kellan asked, raising his voice to meet Caleb’s.

  “Not seeing him, and not knowing where he is are two different things, Kel. I’m not going to sit here and let you bullshit me.” Caleb found himself close to wanting to strike his brother. “You know exactly why I’m looking for him, so stop the innocent act. I need to talk to him, and I need to talk to him now.”

  Kellan stared up defiantly. “I don’t know where he is, and even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.” The two brothers glared at each other, Kellan now standing. “Why do you even care? She’s just some dumb, insignificant bitc...”

  Caleb’s fist collided with Kellan’s jaw before the last word was finished. Kellan flew across the room and slammed into the wall at the same spot the book had previously hit. It didn’t take him long to recover.

  Both boys crouched in a fighting stance, waiting for the other to make a move. Kellan leaped forward throwing his body into Caleb’s, and sending them crashing into the couch. The impact sent it soaring backwards into one of the bookcases. Caleb pushed Kellan off him, sending him flying into the ceiling above. Caleb was much stronger than Kellan. He wondered how long he would go on like this.

  Caleb ducked as Kellan threw a lamp across the room at his head. “You would pick a mortal over your own brother?” he shouted.

  “Why should I have to pick?” Caleb replied. “I love her, Kellan. Can you not understand that?”

  “No,” he laughed humourlessly. “No one can understand that, Caleb, because it’s not right! You don’t know how to love someone,” he accused. “You can’t love someone when you have no heart.”

  Both of them went quiet as they glared at one another from across the room. Caleb didn’t want to hear what he had to say, but it didn’t matter. He knew he was wrong.

  “If you actually thought Dad would just sit back and let you become soft because of this stupid girl, then you’re a bigger fucking idiot than I thought. You can’t just turn your back on your purpose in life. Everyone was put here for a reason, and yours does not include falling in love with Vivian.” Kellan looked at Caleb with cold dark eyes.

  “Why should I listen to what you say?” asked Caleb coldly. “You’re just Dad’s little bitch – even if he doesn’t care what you think. I’m the one he values, not you.” Caleb saw the words hit Kellan as though he had suckered punched him in the gut. He turned then and stormed out, leaving Kellan standing amongst the mess they had made.

  The ride back to Vivian’s seemed to take longer than usual. Kellan’s words bothered him more than he had let on back at the apartment. If there was anything he was sure of in this world, it was his feelings for Vivian. It didn’t matter what his family believed.

  As he approached the house, he could see her sitting outside on the roof below her window. Relief instantly washed over him, seeing that she was safe. He quickly walked over and lifted himself up onto the roof beside her.

  “Hi,” she said, throwing his favourite smile in his direction.

  “Hi,” he replied, sitting beside her. He quickly searched her face to see how she was doing, and could tell that the dream was still having an effect on her. He desperately wanted to know the details so he could really judge the severity of it.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked in a concerned voice. “You’re looking a little rough. Did you get in a fight?” Her voice started to increase.

  “It’s nothing,” he brushed off. “Just some brotherly fun.”

  She scrutinized him, but dropped it. Shuffling closer to him, she laid her head on his shoulder. He breathed in her sweet perfume and sighed contently. Kissing the top of her head, he rested his cheek against her hair.

  “Vivian,” he murmured quietly. She looked up in response, and they both gazed into each other’s eyes. The fierce green never ceased to amaze him. Slowly he leaned down and kissed her gently, wanting to show her how strong he truly felt for her, how wrong his brother really was. He had a heart, and she was it. He didn’t know how to say it, but he could show her. Sometimes words just didn’t seem to be enough.

  She reacted instantly, linking her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. He continued his kisses down her neck and back up to the base of her ear. “I love you more than anyone else in this world,” he breathed against her skin.

  Without waiting for her to reply, he found her mouth again making it impossible for words. He drew her up into his arms and walked quietly over to the window, lifting them both through with ease.

  I could hear Caleb’s even breathing as my head lay on his bare chest. It was obvious something had happened back at his house, but he wanted me to believe it was nothing, so I wasn’t going to pry. Snuggling in closer, I decided I would wait until the morning and maybe he would feel like talking about it.

  The gentle waves of his breathing made me desperate to sleep, but I knew I wouldn’t allow it. Even safely tucked away in Caleb’s arms, I couldn’t bring myself to face whatever images waited for me in the land of slumber. I looked around for a book and hoped that reading would help me stay awake.

  Not wanting to disturb Caleb, I rolled over and read with his arms still locked around me.

  The elders had called him back the following night around eleven. Apparently there had been a meeting called for all members, to discuss their current situation. Artem couldn’t remember the last time every elder had been called to meet in one room. It must have been almost fifty years since they’d had cause to do that, he thought.

  That was how Artem knew there was more to the situation than he had initially realized. He had been under the impression the concern was just for the girl’s safety, but he now knew that hadn’t been the fear at all.

  “We are all very concerned about the intensity of the relationship between this girl and Caleb,” Joseph had said in a serious tone. Joseph was always the mouthpiece for the rest of them. “The others and I believe we have more to fear than we thought,” he continued.

  “What do you mean?” Artem asked. All he wanted was for Vivian to be safe. The tension and anxiety began to rise in the pit of his stomach as the conversation progressed.

  “The others and I believe this girl, Vivian, isn’t just a love interest, but his mate. Centuries apart, a human girl is born who is picked by nature herself to be mated to one of the dark so that they may bear them children. Until now, only Dermot has been able to find a mate, something we thought was singular to him. Now that things are changing, however, we think this may have too.”

  He went silent for a moment, and Artem could feel the tension growing.

  “And we don’t believe she’s just any mate, Artem. We think she is the prophesized one that we have been watching for since the beginning of our brotherhood,” his voice became quiet and harsh as he spoke.

  Sweat beaded on the back of his neck. He knew the stories well, since they were some of the first ones taught to them when they entered the brotherhood. Personally, Artem had never really believed them, so to hear him refer to the old story made him feel sick.

  ‘The One’ referred to a mortal that would come and change the positions of power that had been in pl
ace for all these years. No one quite understood how a mortal could have such a great effect, but apparently it was happening now, in Artem’s lifetime. They had never guessed it would be one of the mates. In truth, Artem had always believed it would have been a man. Perhaps even one of the Brotherhood.

  “How is she the one?” he asked.

  “We believe that the clear division she is causing amongst them is just the beginning. Her love for him, and his for her, is dividing the father from son, and brother from brother. This is clearly a sign that things are changing amongst their family,” he explained.

  “How will that bring a change in their positions?”

  “We researched old scrolls to see what the ancient elders believed this mortal, the one, would do exactly. It appears that one elder prophesized it would indeed be a woman. This woman would bring a division amongst their powers, and would give one of them infinite power over the others. Some even believed it would come down to an offspring of their love,” he whispered urgently through the phone.

  “A child?”

  “A love so grand is sure to produce a child, and this child will be made up of both his father’s power, and the power that their love brings. This child will bring an end to the current reining power, Dermot, and begin his own. A much more terrible and commanding thing than what we have known thus far.”

  Artem could not believe what he was saying. “What is this child, the anti-Christ?” He shook at the thought.

  Joseph let out a deep sigh. “It appears to be something like that, yes. Don’t you see Artem? The two must be separated – they cannot be allowed to bring about something like this on humanity. It must be stopped.” The other end of the phone went deathly silent as Joseph waited for Artem’s reply.

  “What must I do?” he finally asked.

  “Whatever it takes, my son,” Joseph replied.

  Artem hung up the phone and buried his head in his hands. Things had suddenly become substantially more complicated than he ever would have imagined.

  It was Thursday. It had been three nights exactly since I had slept last. My body and mind were screaming for rest, but I ignored them. I could tell from the way my parents and Caleb looked at me that they were all worried. My emotions were all over the place. When I laughed it sounded slightly hysterical, and sometimes turned into fits of crying. I had never been so sleep deprived in my life.

  Caleb was lying on my bed pretending to read, while still keeping an eye on me. I was sitting at my desk checking e-mails. I had missed almost a whole week at the office, and Lily and Ashley were both really worried. I was writing to tell them everything was okay, and promised to be back next week, or so I hoped at least. I took a sip of my coffee, trying to keep the caffeine in my system as high as it could go.

  “You need sleep,” Caleb said, lowering his book. His eyes searched my face, no doubt taking in the dark circles that had formed beneath my eyes. “This is not healthy for you,” he continued. “No offense, but you look terrible.”

  I rolled my eyes and went back to my e-mail. “Caleb, I’m fine, honestly.” My voice sounded weak and unconvincing even to me. Thankfully he had stayed by my side almost the whole time during the week. My parents also seemed to be thankful that he was here to deal with me, rather than them. I don’t think they knew what to make of my current situation.

  “You are not fine,” he argued. “You need sleep, otherwise you will completely wear yourself out. No one can stay awake forever, Vivian,” his voice pleaded.

  I sighed and looked over into his concerned face. “What do you want from me?” I said. “I can’t go to sleep, knowing what is waiting for me there. I’m sorry, but I just can’t.”

  We stared at each other for a minute before I broke, turning back to the computer screen. It was unbearable for me to see how much grief I was causing him.

  We sat in silence as I finished what I was doing. Caleb didn’t bother to raise the book again, choosing to stare off into space instead. “Tell me,” he said suddenly. I looked up in surprise at his determined face.

  “Tell you what?”

  “The dream, tell me what happened in your dream.” His jaw ticked, his shoulders stiff as he avoided my eyes, bracing himself.

  It obviously pained him to ask, having carefully avoided the topic for the whole week. I was actually amazed he had lasted as long as he had. Now that he confronted me though, I wished he hadn’t broken. Just his question made my mind instinctively go back to certain images that I had been suppressing ever since the event. I quickly pushed them back where they belonged, and shook my head vehemently.

  “I can’t,” I said quietly. He was at my side immediately, bringing my hand to his lips. He gently held it there as he looked into my eyes.

  “Vivian, please just tell me what happened. You need to confront it, so you can start to really put it behind you,” he said. “It was just a dream.”

  I pulled my hand from his and walked over to the window. “Dreams don’t leave bruises on your arms. I think we both know that.” I shivered, trying to keep my eyes from looking at the remaining spots on my arms where the handprints had been.

  He was behind me now, pulling me into a protective embrace. “Nothing can harm you when I’m here with you,” he assured me, spinning me around so we faced each other. “I promise to keep you safe. Just sleep.”

  “You can’t be with me in my dreams.”

  “Of course I can, you just have to dream of me and I’ll be there. You are stronger than anything that is in your dreams. The people and images in there are only figments of your imagination, but I’m real,” he said lifting my chin to look into my eyes. “Our love is real, and it is stronger than anything you can think of,” he continued. He gently kissed the tip of my nose as I closed my eyes. I almost felt defeated, wanting so bad to give in and get some rest.

  “I don’t know if I can do it,” I whispered. The thought of actually sleeping seemed to take an immediate effect on me as I stood there. I could feel my body rejoicing and surrendering to the fatigue. Caleb held me up where we stood.

  “Yes, you can. I will be here with you the whole time.” He kissed me again gently on the forehead, and swept me up into his arms. I was fast asleep before my head even hit my pillow.

  Dermot sipped his cognac as he sat in a deep leather chair at the back of the bar. Kellan sat silently by his side, observing the two girls that danced before them. Dermot felt elated over his current success with the stupid girl. He had watched as she was slowly destroyed in her mind as she slept, and the continued regressing as she kept herself awake.

  The only thing that pissed him off was Caleb’s constant presence with the girl. He had refused to leave her side, except for his apparent fight with his other son beside him. That still angered him as well. Such blatant betrayal was more than he could bear to think of. He never would have imagined his youngest son would turn out this way.

  He was so disappointed at his obvious weakness. It was history repeating itself, something Dermot had vowed to never let happen again.

  “We need to get him away from her,” he said quietly to his eldest son. “His presence will make her feel stronger slowly, and we can’t have that.”

  “Obviously,” his son replied in a drawl voice. This irritated Dermot, but he ignored him.

  “What can we do to get him to leave?” he said slowly, as though he were speaking to a child.

  Kellan turned to him and shrugged. Dermot’s hand twitched around the glass, wanting to hit the stupid boy, but he got himself in check. It wouldn’t do him any good to ruin his relationship with this one, since he seemed to be the only one left. Collin had gone back to Ireland in a hurry. When Dermot had heard this news he had abruptly killed the girl he had been with at the time. He felt bad about the waste, she had been pretty, but she happened to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. These things happened, he thought indifferently.

  “What about Mom?” Kellan spoke up, interrupting Dermot’s memories of the girl.<
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  “What about her?” he asked.

  “She’s ill, no?”

  “She’s over a hundred by now, is it any surprise the woman is ill?” he asked, uninterestedly.

  His thoughts went back to when Nora had been young and beautiful. She’d had that long dark hair, and the same blue eyes as Caleb’s. She had been magnificent back then, and had served her purpose well. It was a shame that she had turned out to be so weak. Now that they were apart, Dermot saw her aging slowly, so he kept her hidden away in Ireland.

  “Caleb would do anything for her,” Kellan went on as Dermot explored his old memories. “If you make her condition one where he would feel obligated to go to her, then he would have to leave his new little pet.”

  Dermot turned to look at his eldest son, and smiled slowly. “Well done,” he said approvingly. “A plan that might actually work.”

  He leaned back in the seat and thought about the possibilities. It was true, Caleb had a high level of devotion to his mother, and had cared for her for years. If she needed him, he would go to her, there was no doubt in Dermot’s mind about that.

  This would be simple enough. Nora’s mind had begun to go as soon as she’d realized what she had made, and with whom. She was weak, and anything he sent her way would crush her easily.

  He didn’t want to ruin her completely though, at least not right away. He would need to drag it out long enough for Caleb to go there, and stay there with her a while, so Dermot could finish his work here.

  “You want me to get Collin on it?” Kellan asked, as he watched the two girls.

  “He wouldn’t help with something like this, you know that,” Dermot replied, scoffing at his middle son’s weakness for their mother. Only Kellan could detach himself from the mortal who had borne him.