Keepers of the Flame (Trilogy Bundle)

by Melissa F. Hart

  She smiled, “Not really.”

  “What? How remiss of me. What could I have been thinking of? Oh yeah, I remember, I was thinking of your kisses.”

  She laughed and kissed me then. “Okay, so feel free to tell me how much you love me. Come on, I'm waiting.”

  “You know what, I've changed my mind.” I said with a sly smile.

  “Oh yeah? Fine then, I won't tell you what I was thinking about just now while we were kissing. I'm sure you don't want to know, anyway.” She batted her eyelashes at me.

  “You're one tough cookie.” I said with a groan.

  “You better believe it!”

  I laughed and hugged her to me. I loved the woman she was growing into. She had come a long way from the shy, sulky teenager I'd first met and I couldn't believe it was less than a year ago. Then again, I suppose almost being killed by one's grandfather could make a person grow up in a hurry.

  I whispered in her ear how much I loved her and how lucky I felt to have her in my life. I told her she was the other half of my soul and I couldn't imagine my life without her in it. And I knew that everything I said to her that morning was only a verbalization of how she felt because I could feel her beaming it all back to me. I'd never felt so loved in my entire life and I vowed to do everything possible to let her know as often as I could, just how much I loved her.

  Shortly before we both fell asleep, a thought struck me.

  “About your family, why haven't you ever discussed this with anyone?”

  I couldn't open my heart to anyone else.

  Her words humbled me. I turned to her to express how much but she was already fast asleep. I brushed her hair, gently so I wouldn't wake her, and watched her sleep for a few moments. As I lay beside her, thinking about all she'd gone through and the fact that she'd decided to trust me. I thought of my life and felt a sliver of fear go through me. I'd done many things as a protector, stuff I couldn't tell her about because she wouldn't understand. She was so pure and innocent. If she ever found out that I was not the person she thought I was, I could lose her love. The thought chilled me to the bone and kept me up long after I should have been asleep.

  I must have fallen asleep eventually because I came awake to Luanne gently kissing me.

  “Wake up, sleeping handsome.” She teased.

  I opened an eye and stared at her. “What?”

  “Wake up.”

  “No, not that. The other one.”

  “Sleeping handsome?” She ruffled my hair with a laugh. “You should have seen how cute you looked while you were asleep. Almost broke my heart to wake you.”

  “So what's the hurry? What time is it?”

  “It's a little past six p.m. And get up, we're going out.” She said as she headed for the bathroom.

  “Sleeping handsome.” I muttered as I got out of bed. I wondered when she became so bossy.

  I heard that.

  I smiled as I stood up. I loved this lively part of her. Heck, I loved every part of her.

  Will you at least tell me where we're off to?

  Sure. Hyde Park!

  ***

  Half an hour later, we were strolling along the banks of the Serperntine. Dusk was already beginning to fall over the city. I took a deep breath and looked around me. Although it wasn't yet dark, there were very few people around. Then again, it was April in London. Everywhere was dreary and the weather was chilly. We were bundled up in coats and jackets, yet the cold still managed to seep in. To make matters worse, a very light drizzle had started. Still, casting a sidelong glance at the woman walking beside me, I thought it was a great evening for a stroll.

  “I guess I should have picked a better time for a walk.” She said with a sigh of regret.

  “Ya think?” I reached out and drew her closer, “I'm having a great time, babe. You're here, aren't you?”

  I was rewarded by a brilliant smile. We paused and exchanged a kiss.

  “Common let's walk. We'll feel warmer that way.” She broke the kiss and hooked her arm through mine.

  “I was plenty warm just now.” I grumbled good-naturedly.

  “Yeah, whatever. So have you been to this park before?”

  “Nah, never.”

  “I came once, with my family. We had a picnic and everything, it was wonderful.”

  We were quiet for a while, walking in the light rain.

  “I'm glad you shared this with me.” I finally said.

  She stopped and turned to look at me. We were close to the edge of the water now. “I wanted -.” Suddenly she stopped and a look of absolute terror filled her face. Before I could ask her what the problem was, she grabbed my arm and dragging me along, jumped into the freezing cold waters of the Serpentine.

  Just before we splashed into the lake, I heard an explosion go off and then I was sucked into the depths of the water.

  I fought my way to the surface and my first thought was Luanne. I couldn't find her anywhere and it was already getting dark. I noticed we were some distance from where we'd fallen in and did a quick scan of the area while I treaded water. There was no one there.

  I searched for Luanne again and was beginning to panic. If anything happened to her I didn't know how I would go on. My throat tightened with fear and I dove beneath the water, searching for her. I finally found her sitting with her knees drawn up and her arms wrapped around them. I found the sight difficult to take in because she was not even sitting at the bottom of the river; she just seemed suspended in the water.

  Lu, are you okay? I asked trying to hide my panic and doing a miserable job of it.

  It's too cold out on the surface, so I thought I'd wait here till you found me.

  I felt the panic subside and anger take its place. I'd almost gone berserk from fear and all the while she'd been chilling here because of the cold?

  We need to get out of here. I said but remained where I was. Someone had thrown a bomb or whatever at us and that someone might still have been out there. I didn't want to move up to the surface and find myself surrounded.

  I was still debating what to do when my phone rang. She raised an eyebrow at me but I ignored her. I was still mad at her. I eyed her, wondering how she could just be suspended like that, inside the water while I had to make an effort at threading water to keep from sinking to the bottom. The phone rang again and I dug it out from my pocket.

  My relief was great when I saw the number belonged to the London Protector HQ.

  “We've sent rescue to you at the lake. You may both come out now.” I was told.

  I shut the phone and slipped it back into my pocket.

  They've sent a rescue team. We need to go now.

  I saw her give me a questioning look at the abrupt tone I'd used but I ignored it and stretched out my hand to her. As soon as she curled her small hand in mine, we shot for the surface. I was still mad as hell, but I figured we could deal with that later. Right then I needed to make sure she was safe and warm.

  Chapter Four

  Back at the Protector's HQ, we had gotten out of our wet things and were at what I learned was the briefing room. It didn't look much different from any regular conference room to me, but I figured that with the heavy TOP SECRET and the OUT OF BOUNDS stamped onto the door, the protectors took it very seriously.

  I was handed a steaming cup of tea as soon as I sat down on one of the comfortable seats around the conference table with some other Protectors. I'd noticed as soon as I entered that Dylan seemed to be missing. He'd gone to his room as soon as he'd seen me to my room and though I'd tried to convince him to take a hot shower in my room; he simply shook his head and strode off.

  As I sipped from my teacup, I glanced at the other protectors milling around. They were generally ignoring me and there was none of the warmth that had been directed at me by the other protectors in the United States. I noticed a particularly frosty stare coming from a stunning protector. She had wavy raven locks that seemed to spill down her back in sleek, shiny waves. I gauged her to b
e about four or five inches taller than I was and she looked like a combination of every model that had every walked the runway. Katrina was obsessed with fashion shows and had even dragged me to a few in New York and in Paris.

  I lowered my gaze to my teacup but couldn't help looking at her again. She'd turned to speak to a huge protector guy that was seated next to her. She must have felt me looking at her because she turned and gave me a pointed stare before turning back to her companion. She said a few words and they both turned and looked at me with smirks on their faces. I was immediately conscious of the fact that while she was dressed in a black leather catsuit; I was more simply attired in a pair of skinny jeans and a light blue sweater. My hair was in a ponytail and I wished I'd taken the time to make it into a French braid. They had no right to smirk at me when none of them had bothered to even speak to me. I was not going to let a bunch of snobby protectors make me feel inferior. I lifted my chin and gave them a stare filled with disdain.

  Just then the Top Secret door opened and Dylan walked in. He looked gorgeous in a pair of jeans. He had on a dark blue v-neck t-shirt and it made me feel better about my jeans and sweater. Our eyes met briefly as he walked into the room but he barely acknowledged me before moving to the other end of the room to sit down. It didn't escape my notice that he was seated right next to the raven-haired snob. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who noticed because she turned and gave me a satisfied smile. My inner an alarm went instantly on alert. I just knew there was history between Dylan and the other woman. Feeling even more insecure, I looked at him but he refused to look back even though he must have felt me staring at him. Looking down at my teacup, I felt the painful sting of rejection.

  “All right everyone, we need to run through what happened this evening.”

  My attention was drawn by a curvy woman. I could see from her name tag that her name was Elona Bigsby. From the air of authority around her, I assumed she was in charge of the London HQ, or at least in charge of this operation, or whatever it was. She had light chocolate skin, lighter than my best friend, Claire's. Her hair was in short, black curls, tight curls which made me green with envy. She had golden brown eyes and at close to six feet tall, you didn't want to meet with her in a back alley. Her voice drew me away from my reflection.

  “We scoured the area along the Serpentine and as we suspected, a bomb was detonated.” She paused and there was complete silence in the room as all eyes were focused on her. “I certainly don't need to tell you all how serious this is. It is a breach of our protocol to use explosives; we leave that for the humans. What this tells us is that whoever is after the Keeper is both dangerous and wild. Whoever it is has absolutely no regard for our protocol and our laws and this is a serious matter.”

  She turned to look at me as she spoke and I felt all eyes on me. I kept my eyes trained on her and I got the feeling that I could completely trust her.

  “To put it bluntly, Luanne's life is in danger. But that's not all that's in danger, people. If anything should happen to Luanne, our race as we know it ceases to exist.”

  The silence in the room was profound. I noticed that the other Protectors were now looking at me with something akin to awe. Even raven locks no longer had disdain written all over her face as she turned to look at me. The only person who kept his gaze determinedly away from mine was Dylan. I looked at him briefly and then turned away. He wanted to be childish, that was fine with me.

  As the briefing went on, I felt anger begin to build inside me. I had issues, I readily acknowledged that. But in comparison with his issues mine paled into insignificance. How were we supposed to build a relationship when he wouldn't speak to me? This was not the first time he'd retreated into a sulking silence because of something I'd supposedly done, and I had no idea what it was. I was not going to allow him humiliate me that way. I decided to focus on the briefing instead.

  Back in my room, I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. I felt numb and I desperately wished my mind could be numb too as I went through the information I'd heard during the briefing. They'd profiled possible rogue vampires who could have made use of the explosive, and as they'd discussed strategies and dangers, I began to feel real fear for Katrina's safety. It occurred to me for the first time that she might not make it out alive.

  Thinking about it now, I clenched my teeth together tightly to keep from hyperventilating. I wish I could have given up the stone to save Katrina and if I'd thought for one moment it would have made a difference, I would have done it, even if it had destroyed me in the process. But giving up the stone would mean the destruction of our race and that meant Katrina would still lose her life. It was a catch-22 situation.

  I got up and began to pace. I felt so helpless. Elona had concluded that we were powerless to act at that moment until we heard from the kidnappers. In the meantime, they were investigating and doing whatever protector things they usually spent their time doing. I had no idea what they were talking about. As soon as they'd begun talking shop, I'd excused myself and made my way back to my room. Suddenly my phone beeped. Picking it up I saw it was a text from Claire, my best friend. I suddenly remembered she'd been trying to reach me for a couple of days.

  Girl, where are you?

  I quickly tapped back that I was fine but in London.

  What are you doing there? Better get your ass back down here!

  You know Katrina, up to her usual mischief so had to come keep an eye on her.

  It wasn't strictly a lie. I had come to London because of Katrina even if it was not because of any mischief on her part. But I could hardly tell her the truth when she didn't even know I was a vampire.

  You Aunt is a laugh a barrel. Have fun and bring something British for me.

  I rolled my eyes at that, even as a reluctant smile formed on my lips. People like Claire gave me hope that the world was not all bad. She was one person who would always go to battle on my behalf and she stood up for me. I wondered briefly if she would still be my friend if she found out I was a vampire. Probably not. But I was not going to dwell upon that. Just like I wasn't going to dwell on the fact that as I'd left the Top Secret, Out of Bounds briefing room, raven locks and Dylan had been so engrossed in each other that he hadn't even noticed me leaving. Whatever. He knew where I was if ever he decided to be an adult.

  I flopped back on the bed just as my phone beeped again. It was another text message but this time from a number I didn't recognize. The message was short and to the point.

  The Serpentine was just a warning. Come back home tonight and no Protectors.

  If felt my body freeze up. I reached up to touch the stone hanging from the chain around my neck and it was freezing cold. That had never happened before. Come to think of it, when I'd gotten angry with Dylan at the briefing room, the stone had warmed up. Suddenly it was as though it was not just acting as an alarm whenever I was in danger, but was picking up on my emotions as well.

  I shook my head to clear it and went back to the text message on my phone. If I understood it correctly, I was supposed to go to Greenwich that night, specifically to the house I'd grown up in and I was not to go with Dylan or any of the protectors.

  What do I do? I thought in consternation. Did I inform the Protectors or just sneak out and go by myself? I checked the time; it was already past ten p.m. I needed to make a decision and fast.

  Chapter Five

  In the end, I decided to compromise. I left a note on my bed for Dylan telling him I'd received a text and quoting the message I'd received. I knew that I was taking a risk going alone and that leaving that note was a gamble. A gamble that he loved me enough to check on me later and discover my note. If he was still ensconced with raven locks and didn't bother to check on me, then I would have to find a way to get Katrina out on my own.

  I could have zipped through the air and found myself in Greenwich, but I decided to take the train for two reasons. First, I wanted to buy myself some time and second, I was no longer completely familiar with London and
didn't want to literally land in a situation that was beyond me. Besides I had a good idea that's what the kidnapper would expect me to do. Hanging around vampires, I'd come to realize that they could not fathom that a vampire might act and think like a mortal. I sometimes thought that I was more mortal than vampire; goodness knew how many times I cursed my vampire heritage.

  Aboard the train from Knightsbride station, I sent the kidnapper a message.

  What about my grandmother?

  We were approaching Green Park station where I needed to change trains before I got a reply.

  If you followed instructions, she will be safe.

  What did that mean? She was either safe or she wasn't. I was not in the mood for nonsense and his penchant for cryptic messages was beginning to get to me. I just knew it was a he. He seemed to be enjoying the entire cloak and dagger thing a little too much for my liking. It was almost as though he'd taken Katrina for the sake of taking her. I didn't know any women who operated that way. They usually did things as a means to an end.