****
The rest of the night, I couldn’t sleep, both the ghost’s and V’s warnings on repeat in my head.
Along with the moment in the diner with the ghost and the stranger, the Tome only encouraged my suspicions. The mystery ancestor seemed to think a vampire clan had been stalking our family, watching for when our curse would break. Vampires lived much longer than most other Mystics, and it would make sense that they would’ve known our family’s power before the curse and wondered what it would be like after it.
As the sun’s rays filtered into my room, I listened to my parents move about their morning. Neither knew I had come back last night, probably assuming I was still staying with Rowan at Wilson’s apartment. Simon wouldn’t be awake until at least noon, if not later. I shook my head as I thought about my slightly older brother’s antics. He would need to figure out his life eventually.
The front door opened and shut, and I climbed off my bed to peek out the window. My parents hopped into their car and drove off. Where they were off to, I didn’t know, and I could only hope they would be gone long enough for my search. As soon as the car was out of sight, I went straight to their room.
The cold presence followed me again. Same ghost, same ‘almost there but not quite’ feeling. Not wanting to bring attention to myself, I ignored the presence and walked into my parents’ neatly decorated room. The soft colors reminded me of my mother’s smooth demeanor. She had been our family’s glue; my brothers looked to my father for leadership, but my mother had always been the head of the family.
Between their bed, two dressers, and a small sitting area, nowhere screamed hiding place for a secret safe. As I looked around, a chill trailed over my shoulders and down my left arm. I turned in that direction, slightly confused. Ghosts were warded against entering our home. We even had a black cat named Toothless since black cats were known to keep spirits away.
This ghost was persistent for sure.
Turning to my parents’ closet, I saw the doors were shut, but the temperature dropped closer to it. I opened the door and stepped in. The left side had all of my mother’s things, my father’s clothes to the right.
The farther into the closet I went, the colder it became. It seemed the ghost was trying to lead me to the safe. I kept following until we hit the back wall, searching the seams of the wall, but nothing felt unusual.
Crouching down, I felt along the hardwood floors. A board’s seam was off, and I tried to pick at it. The muscles in my forearm bunched, and I finally pried the first board up. Underneath the wood sat another box that looked very similar to the firebox. It also had a keypad though I doubted the password would be the same. That would be the problem. My father wouldn’t use his regular rotation of passwords for something this secretive.
“Want to know the passcode?” My grandfather appeared next to me.
“Grandfather,” I gritted out, breathing slowly to calm my racing heart. It didn’t matter how many times ghosts appeared out of nowhere, it still spooked me.
“It’s easy, here.” He whispered the code to me, and once I entered it, the seal hissed open. “Ha! Told ya, your dad is a creature of habit.”
As I stared at the box, I wondered if I really wanted to open it. But then a different chill went down my spine. Rowan’s and my life may be on the line.
“Don’t hold back the suspense, boy. Open it!”
Shaking my head, I opened the box. Inside sat even more documents. I sifted through different tax files and more documents. Mystics had their own version of birth certificates, and all of ours were inside this box. At the very bottom was a heavy stack of papers. I grabbed it and sat back.
My grandfather read over my shoulder, his presence not unwelcomed. For a moment it felt nice knowing he would discover the truth with me if he didn’t already know.
The official agreement between Master Morris and the Hayes Family.
Only vampires went by Master. A lead weight slammed heavily into my gut, and a sinking feeling followed as I turned to the next page.
There was a ton of lawyer speak in the first couple of pages, announcing who each party was. Morris was a new vampire Master who had formed his coven barely a century ago, which for vampires made him practically a baby. The other side announced both my parents. Seeing their names in black and white on the paper made me see red.
“Your daddy’s favorite line comes to mind. We don’t keep secrets in this family. Do we, son?”
“I didn’t think we did.” But I knew once I turned the page over, I’d be proven wrong.
In agreement for protection and safety of the entire Hayes family, the Morris Coven will be promised the female twin on her twenty-first birthday. She will belong to Balthazar Edwards, second to Master Morris.
Chapter 6
I stared at the papers for another five minutes, going through them with a fine-toothed comb, but there were missing parts of the contract. It was almost as if someone didn’t want either Rowan or me to find out about the contract or try to find a way out of it. Hot anger flooded my veins, and for once, I understood Rowan’s impulsiveness and her rush-in attitude.
I couldn’t sit, still couldn’t think, couldn’t focus. My fists opened and closed as I tried to process. Memories of my sister flashed through my head. Her as a mud-covered child, throwing mud at me. When we were teens and snuck out to drink for the very first time, her getting so mad because Indigo didn’t get drunk easily.
Her free spirit. If forced into a marriage, Rowan would wither and die. She would no longer be my other half, the half of me that ran free, danced in the rain. At the thought of seeing her slowly fade, my fists tightened and my powers flared.
“Careful, boy!” my grandfather yelled before flickering out.
I had to find the missing sections of the contract. I’d find a way for her. There had to be a loophole to free Rowan from a decision my parents made for her, us. Because I would have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life. It was my responsibility as the firstborn.
My muscles tightened as I gripped the contract. Storming out of my parents’ closet, I went back to my room.
If I left, if I got away, Rowan wouldn’t do the ritual without me. I didn’t know for sure if it would stall the vampires from trying to claim her, but I needed to try something. Our birthday was in a couple of days. If I was able to find a loophole before then, it might be considered a miracle.
I snagged my duffel bag from my closet. Grabbing a couple changes of clothes and my onyx knuckles, along with a couple of onyx daggers, I stuffed them in the bag. I looked at the Tome sitting on my bed. Thinking it might have useful information I’d need, I put it inside with everything else.
Strapping the bag over my shoulder with the contract still in my hand, I grabbed my keys and wallet from my dresser and headed out of my room. Simon sat at the breakfast bar lazily eating cereal, looking half asleep. I didn’t stop to speak to him. Had he known? Had any of my brothers known? Rowan didn’t know. She would’ve come to me, and we would’ve been in the wind by now.
Some of the terms of agreement had stated if the female twin was switched, ran, or otherwise tried to get out of the contract, the family would pay with their lives. There had to be a way out of this. The witch who drew up the contract had to know if there was a loophole and what it was. Once I found her, I could get the information I needed. Rowan would be free from this curse even if it killed me.
Storming out of the house, I walked down the path to where I’d parked my truck. Red bled into my vision, and I lost control when I reached it, kicking the side of the truck, needing to release some of my pent-up energy. I ripped the door open and it flung backward, creaking loudly as rust flew everywhere.
I dumped my duffel bag into the passenger seat and grabbed my phone from my back pocket. It was dead. Cursing under my breath, I glared at it. With everything going on, I forgot to charge it, and I didn’t have my charger. I’d just pick one up on the way to Seattle. It was the biggest Mystic cit
y near us, as good a place as any to start looking.
I circled the front of the truck to the driver side and climbed in, clutching the steering wheel in a death grip. My nostrils flared as I breathed through my anger.
My twin. Sold. By my parents.
I turned the keys, the engine roaring to life.
I won’t let this happen. I can’t.
Not my baby sister. Not my best friend.
For the first time in my almost twenty-one years, I drove away from my hometown, from everything I knew, to save the one person who made any of it matter.
****
The truck bounced over potholes and uneven roads. The turbulence kept me awake, but my anger kept me going. The first time I stopped for gas, I went in to buy a charger that would fit my phone. Instead, I picked up a pocketknife, road map, and a burner phone.
When I climbed back into the truck, my ring flashed and I touched the initials. I started the truck and began my journey again.
“Grandfather, you still with me?” I called out.
“Hey, son.” His image flickered next to me.
“You died before our birth, but did you know about the contract?”
“What you are doing, Abel? It’s dangerous. That contract states no one can interfere. If you do, you forfeit your life.”
I didn’t answer, just focused on the road ahead of me. I needed a bit more information though. The spirit that had led me to this point had been accompanying me until my grandfather appeared. So far the spirit had avoided me anytime my grandfather was around. It wasn’t surprising to me he disappeared, but I needed information.
“You’re going to have to leave me behind soon, son. Ask me what you need to.”
As the road zipped past, I debated my decisions. In the end, I’d choose to save her every time. Rowan was the bright part of my soul. She would never have to suffer as long as I lived.
“What happened to Horace?” I asked, wanting more information about the ancestor who wrote the Tome. My gut told me that finding the answer to my uncle’s death may help me find the answers I needed for the contract. His obsession centered on vampires, and then my family made a contract with the coven. It was too close not to be connected.
“Ask me anything but that, son.” His voice cracked.
I glanced over at my grandfather. He looked like a father who lost his son too soon. We had been on the road long enough that I needed to stop for gas again.
As I pulled into another station, my grandfather said, “You’re not going to be able to keep this up for long, Abel.”
“I know.”
“You gotta let me go, son. Otherwise your parents will be able to find you.”
I stepped out of the car and twisted the ring around my thumb. I didn’t want the heirloom to get lost, but my grandfather was right. If I kept the ring, my parents could follow it straight to me. I should’ve left it at home the moment I left.
“I’ll keep them off your track for as long as I can.”
“Thank you, Grandfather.”
“Abel, I’m sorry. Horace just disappeared. None of us know what happened to him. But if you have his Tome, you have all the information you need. Stay safe.”
I removed the ring, and my grandfather flickered out once again. I went inside and bought an envelope, writing the address to the post office closest to Kodiak Falls on the front.
“I’ll pay you fifty bucks if you send this out first thing tomorrow morning,” I told the cashier.
She was younger with way too much eyeshadow, endearing freckles sprinkling her cheekbones. She popped her gum loudly.
“Sure thing, sweet thang.” She winked at me and brushed her fingers over mine as she took the envelope.
“Thanks.” I gave her a grin and walked out of the gas station, my smile dropping the moment the door closed behind me. I gripped the cup of lukewarm coffee and took another swig. The bitter taste would only keep me awake for a couple more hours, but it would put me ahead and bring me closer to answers that much quicker.
****
The image had been too hazy at first for me to see them, but as they began to speak, it slowly became clearer.
“You made a mistake, Noah.”
“It’s my family, my choices,” my father replied, standing toe-to-toe with someone who had to be family. He had Hayes characteristics, but I hadn’t ever met him in my life.
“We could’ve protected you if you’d just given us some time.”
“My children were almost killed. I couldn’t wait another minute. You don’t understand because you never had kids, Horace.”
“Don’t try that shit with me, Noah. You know I love your kids as if they were my own, but my job is too dangerous to bring children into this world. And I would’ve kept your kids safe.”
“But you didn’t. I did, and I did what I had to do.”
“But at what cost?”
The dream—memory?—faded away from me as the sun brightened and shone through my closed lids. Breathing deeply, I opened my eyes and stretched my back. The cold blast of the ghost next to me gave me a clue as to who’d been sitting there all this time. But if he was my father’s brother, why couldn’t he contact me? Connections, blood, familial outside of blood, friends—they were always the easiest to contact.
I decided that once I made it to the city, I would further explore this block between us. He had answers I needed. Hopefully, his blast of cold air had been a reassurance that he would remain with me.
Sitting up, I turned the key to my truck, and it roared to life.
Time to begin the second leg of my journey.
Chapter 7
The rest of the ride had been torturously quiet. Even the cold blasts had stopped, meaning the ancestor had left. Perhaps it was a good thing. It meant I had a lot of time to think.
My parents hadn’t made the best choice; from the memory, I could see my father’s fear. He’d almost lost his children, and he refused to accept that as a reality. My father was a respectable man who rarely got scared of anything, but there was so much anger and fear in his face that I could understand his rash decisions.
The city came into view, the buildings peeking through the trees and reminding me how far humans have come from living in the woods. But seeing all the metal and the suburbia made me miss my home, though it might’ve had more to do with the stability and control I had at home.
The city towered over me as I crept in like a thief. Hopefully, I would find the answers I desperately needed.
Even late at night, the streets were buzzing with activity, which was completely different from my sleepy town. Being Mystic, it was easy to see through glamours and note that most of the nightlife consisted of Mystics. Keeping my sights ahead, I searched for a nightly motel. I didn’t have much cash on me, and I couldn’t use my card. In the morning I’d have to find a library to get public records. Wilson, Everette, and Kent all lived in Seattle. But since Rowan and I weren’t supposed to leave our town, there addresses had never been a subject we discussed.
Kent wouldn’t be an option since he probably stayed with his training partner at the Guard. Wilson’s apartment had security systems in place, both human and magical. I’d find Ever’s address in the morning and head over there.
After driving on the outskirts of the city, I found a run-down motel. It would do for the night.
After I rented a room, I went inside, refusing to look too closely at the bed as I went straight for the shower. The rusted corners and weak spray were less than appealing, but it worked.
I stepped out of the shower with a towel hung low on my hips. Water beaded down my chest, and I wiped it away.
The day had been long, and while I was sore from the drive, I needed to stretch. The restless energy in my veins bothered me. Rowan had been the restless twin while I was always the stable one. But with the knowledge I possessed, I couldn’t stay still.
I sat on the bed and looked at my meager supplies. I had both my silver knuckles and my onyx one
s, along with a couple of daggers. Our parents had trained us both physically and mentally, preparing us for the lives we would live.
Werewolves had their claws and teeth to protect them, along with pure brute strength. Shifters had the same, but weren’t nearly as strong as werewolves. Magic users, such as witches, mages, and the like, could protect themselves well enough. Vampires had their strengths as well. Unfortunately, necromancers, along with a few other Mystics, didn’t have that sort of security, so we trained with weapons to protect ourselves.
I pulled out the crumpled-up contract. At this point, I’d read through it enough times that it’d burned into my memory. The legal speak of it all seemed meant to be confusing and misleading, but the contract itself was straightforward.
For protection, they demanded a price. The life of my twin.
****
Morning came too quickly, and the rocking and pounding next door made it especially hard to ignore. It was time for me to move on. The pay-by-hour motel hadn’t been the nicest choice, but it was low-key, and everyone minded their own business.
After I packed the Tome and contract in my duffel, I stuffed my knuckle rings in my jeans pockets.
The bright sun blinded me when I stepped out. Tucking my chin down, I walked toward my truck. My truck sat nestled between two other cars that I’d bet belonged to the loud couple next door. After climbing in, I backed out of the space and headed to the nearest gas station, grabbing a local map and other tourist information.
After driving around for an hour, I found a library I could hopefully use to find out where Ever was living. The Guard, the police of our world system, would have it, but I hadn’t tried hacking in before, and it might take time to do so undetected. Human systems were much easier to navigate.
Once I entered the library, a mousy woman with a tight bun and cat’s-eye glasses watched me like a hawk. I smiled at her, lifting my chin, but she just huffed and tightened her hold on the books in her arms. I supposed unshaved and dressed in just jeans and a wrinkled shirt screamed troublemaker. The idea made me laugh and think of Rowan. She would’ve been in my ear in a second with a comment or two. My smile melted away when I remembered what brought me to this point, why she wasn’t next to me. What would happen to her rogue spirit if the vampires got her?
Secrets of the Dead Page 4