The Wanderers Beginning: The Wanderers, Reborn, & Unforgiven

by Jessica Miller

  I looked over my shoulder and into the eyes of the elderly woman. I knew exactly who she was talking about. “Tristan,” I said breathlessly. Everything clicked in that moment. “You’re Tristan’s grandmother. That’s why I recognized the garden.” She eyed me suspiciously. “That’s why I am here, to find him. You know don’t you. You know he’s still alive.”

  She didn’t say yes, but I could see it in her eyes that she believed. “My child, you have a very generous heart, a little too generous. If you’re not careful with it, it will break.” She smiled like she knew some big secret I didn’t. “Josef.” She signaled for him to help her up. He did as she asked and walked her in to the next room.

  “Wait, where the hell are you going?” I said annoyed. “What just happened?” I was so confused. First she knocks me on my ass. Then challenges me to a powers duel – which I clearly won – she mumbles some cryptic bullshit about me having a big heart and then walks away? No. That was not acceptable.

  I stomped after her only to have the Caleb stop me. “It’s late,” he said.

  “But I have so many questions,” I argued.

  “I know, but they will have to wait until tomorrow.”

  I looked at my watch. “But it’s only eight o’clock.”

  Caleb grabbed my wrist. “Where did you get this?” he asked, examining the watch.

  “It’s Tristan’s, it was a gift.”

  He rubbed his thumb over the watch and I swear he was fighting back tears. “This was my dad’s watch,” he said softly.

  “I’m sorry. I –”

  “It’s okay,” he smiled. “You need it more than I do right now,” he said, patting my hand. I shook my head not understanding. “Come back tomorrow. We’ll have breakfast and talk.”

  “Oh um…” I looked to my friends on how to answer.

  “I insist and so would Deidre,” he said kindly. “Tomorrow morning I will help you with anything you need to help find my grandson. I believe you were brought here for a reason, that all of this was not just a coincidence.”

  “Thank you,” I said at a loss for words.

  “Tomorrow than.” He nodded and we headed for the door. I waved goodbye and followed my friends out to the car.

  “Hey, wait up a second!” Josef called, running up to us. I stopped and turned around. “Um,” he blushed. “Are you guys really going to come back for breakfast?” he asked hopeful.

  “I, well…” I wasn’t sure.

  “Don’t let my gran scare you off. She’s just stuck in her old ways. I promise if you guys come back we’ll try to keep her on her best behavior,” he smiled sweetly.

  “I’ll have to let you know,” I said, not able to make any promises. I knew I would be crazy not to come back. This was Tristan’s family, but I had a bad feeling Deirdre wouldn’t be much help.

  “Well in case you decide to,” he pulled his phone from his back pocket and handed it to me. “Give me your number and then I can text you mine. You know in case you decide you need some help.”

  “Smooth, kid,” I heard Billy whisper. I turned back to see Josie elbow him.

  “Yeah, okay,” I said, ignoring them. I typed my number in and handed back his phone.

  “Great,” he smiled. “Hopefully I’ll see you around.”

  “Bye Josef.” I waved and hopped in the car.

  “Looks like we got a little Tristan in training,” Josie teased and Billy laughed.

  “Shut up you guys,” I said as I sat back and buckled myself in.

  “Okay, so how crazy was all that? And what was up with you and that old battleax? If this is any indication of how the rest of the trip is going to go I need to stock up on some aspirin,” Cameron said.

  “Yeah Ella, what hell was that between you two?” Josie asked, turning around in her seat.

  “I have no idea, but I do know one thing. I’m going to take this as a good sign.”

  “How so?” Josie looked at me like I was nuts.

  “First twenty minutes in Ireland and we run into Tristan’s grandparents, if that’s not a sign then I don’t know what is.”

  Cameron squeezed my hand letting me know she agreed with me while Josie sat back down in her seat the right way. We found the nearest hotel and checked in for the night. We ordered room service while Billy went down to the lobby to get some maps and find some information on the surrounding area.

  I was so beat from the flight and the power battle that I could barely lift my hands to eat. I knew I shouldn’t have tried to use that much power so soon, but hey, I was not going to let that woman get me. Tristan’s grandmother or not. After I finished my burger and fries, I joined Billy at the table where he set up a little area of maps to look over. “So where do we start?”

  “I think we need to start with you getting some rest,” Billy said, looking at me concerned.

  “Billy, I’m fine.”

  “Ella, you can fool Josie and Cameron, but you can’t fool me.” I began to protest but he stopped me. “I know you’re weak and feeling run down and after all that power you used tonight I’m surprised you’re still standing.”

  “I can hold my own.” I was tired of everyone thinking I couldn’t handle myself.

  “Look Ella,” Billy looked over his shoulder and lowered his voice. “I didn’t tell Josie or Cameron, but I know about your blood lust.”

  “What are you talking about?” I said, pretending I had no idea.

  “I can see it in your eyes. I know it’s uncommon for someone so young, but you’re different. We all knew that from the beginning.”

  “Gee, thanks for the warning.”

  “You know what I mean. You need to drink Ella. All this power you have is what is driving your need for blood. You’re going to burn yourself out if you don’t feed.”

  “No, I can’t. I won’t.”

  “Ella, this is part of who you are. Whether you want to accept it or not you are part vampire. You can’t deny your nature.”

  “Watch me,” I said, stomping off into the bathroom. He was wrong. He didn’t know what he was talking about. I was perfectly fine. I survived this long, which was proof I didn’t need blood. I gripped the edge of the counter and took a few deep breaths. I looked up at myself in the mirror and wished I hadn’t. I looked deathly ill. My skin was ghostly white and the dark circles under my eyes were even darker than before. My once silky hair was now dry and matted. I turned on the faucet and splashed some cold water on my face. I was rundown. I was weak and I was feeling the need for blood, but I refused to believe it. I just suppressed the urge hoping that it would pass. I took a breath and stepped out of the bathroom.

  “Everything okay?” Josie asked.

  “Yeah. I’m just not feeling well. I think I just need to lie down for a while.” I crawled on to the bed closest to the bathroom. My stomach was starting to twist up and I had a feeling it would be safer if I slept closer to the bathroom. I wasn’t ready for this. All this power, the need to feed, and everything else that came along with being a vampire. I just needed rest. I was sure as long as I got some rest I would be fine. No need for blood.

  In the morning I received a text from Josef wondering if we were going to come for breakfast. I hesitated before I replied. The last thing I wanted to do was spend the morning with that wretched woman, but I needed answers and this was the first lead we got. I didn’t know what I should do so I asked Josie. “I don’t know Ella? That’s up to you.”

  “You’re a lot of help,” I mumbled. I replied back saying yes we would come over for breakfast. “Where’s Billy?” I asked Josie when I finished texting Josef.

  “He went to go get supplies. He said he’d be back in time for us to leave.” I nodded and made my way into the bathroom to get cleaned up. I got in the shower and stood there for a few minutes. I was feeling week – weaker than I did yesterday. I was having a hard time just lifting my arms to wash my hair. I thought back to what Billy had said to me last night. Was he right? Was that why I was feeling so beat? I fin
ished up and stepped out of the shower wrapping a towel around myself.

  I was in over my head. I had no idea what was happening to me, my body, my mind. I learned so much but at the same time so little. I had so much more to learn about what I was. I looked at myself in the mirror. What happened to me? How did I let this happen? I needed to get a grip.

  Billy was right.

  I could no longer deny who I was. If I was going to find Tristan I needed all my strength and my sanity.

  After I got dressed, I sat and waited with the girls until Billy returned. We each packed a small bag of supplies and headed down to the car. “Ella wait, I need you to help me with something,” Billy said, giving me look. “You guys go ahead. We’ll meet you down at the car.”

  “Anything I can help with?” Josie asked.

  “No. Be right down in a minute,” he said, giving her a quick peck. She gave him a suspicious look, but left with Cameron.

  Billy waited a few minutes before he turned to me. He reached into his backpack and handed me a bottle. “Here, drink this.”

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “It’s what you need,” he said.

  I already knew what it was and knew I could no longer argue with him or my body. When I didn’t take it right away he thought I was resisting again. “Ella you have to take it it’s –”

  “I know,” I said, sighing. I took the bottle and unscrewed the cap.

  “Little sips,” he said after I took the first gulp. “You need to take it gradually. If you do too much too soon you’ll get sick.”

  I nodded and started to slowly sip it. “Why is it that I already have the blood lust?” I asked curious, hoping Billy had the answers I needed.

  He sunk down into a chair. “Honestly Ella, I don’t know. My guess would be all the powers you possess. You’re the first Wanderer ever to possess as many powers as you do. That’s probably the reason you’re developing the desire for blood so quickly. The stronger the vamp the more blood you’ll need. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. I believe a lot of it stems from all the power you’re using. That’s why you are weak. You’re not letting your body regenerate itself.”

  “Am I going to have to drink this every day?” I asked.

  “No. Just until you are well again and only if you use a large amount of power otherwise you should be fine.”

  “Thank you Billy,” I said, taking another small sip. I was already feeling better.

  “It’s not a problem.” He waved me off.

  “Not just for this,” I held up the bottle. “I mean for everything, for not giving up on me and well just…thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he smiled. “I know this can’t be easy for you. Having all these powers and not knowing what’s happening to your body, but I just want you to know I’ll help you the best I can. I won’t leave you to be alone in this. I’ll do what I can for as long as I can,” he said, squeezing my hand. I gave him a thankful smile and took another sip. “Drink half of that now and finish the other half later and you should be fine for the day. I want you to continue to drink at least half a bottle a day for the rest of the week or until you get all your strength back and then you should be fine.”

  I drank half as he instructed me and followed him downstairs to the car. I knew I wasn’t a hundred percent better but I did feel a lot stronger than this morning which was a plus.

  I started to get a little nervous on the way to Tristan’s grandparents. I had a bad feeling his grandmother, Deirdre, would not be so cooperative. I went over in my head all the questions I wanted to ask and all the questions I should ask. My head was full of so many things I hadn’t even realized we arrived. I got out of the car and made a hesitant step toward the house. Josie stayed back with me waiting patiently. I let out a slow breath and pushed open the gate.

  Josef greeted us at the door happy to see us this bright and early in the morning. I smiled at him politely as he welcomed us into the house. Deirdre was sitting in her chair. She was not as welcoming as Josef and Caleb. “Can I get you something to drink?” Caleb asked. “Breakfast should be ready momentarily.”

  “Would you like some help?” I offered.

  “No, no Josef can help. Just sit and relax.”

  “Kind of hard to do with Deirdre sitting there glaring at me,” I thought. We all sat there silently while Josef and Caleb finished fixing breakfast. Sensing how uncomfortable my friends were I decided to make nice. “So, I like your garden. How do you have so many different flowers throughout the seasons?”

  She just narrowed her eyes at me, got up, and then left the room. “O-kay,” I said, looking at my friends confused. Josie just shrugged her shoulders.

  Caleb returned to the living room to let us know breakfast was done. As we all gathered around the table, Caleb informed us that Deirdre would not be joining us. He said she was not feeling well. I tried to act disappointed.

  During breakfast, Caleb told us all about the favorite places Tristan liked to go. All his favorite places to eat, hang out, and shop. He told us stories of his childhood, including all the trouble he used to get into when he was little. His face lit up when he talked about him. I smiled. There was no doubt how much he truly loved his grandson.

  When we were done I offered to help clean up, but Caleb said no, we were guests in his house and him and Josef would clean up later. I thanked him for the breakfast and all the information. Then we said our goodbyes as we headed out to start our search.

  We began with checking out one of the places Tristan liked to eat. Unfortunately, most of the time was spent driving around and trying to figure out where the hell we were. Billy made the mistake of letting Josie control the map. She didn’t even know how to read a map. “Doesn’t this thing have GPS?” Josie whined.

  “No, that would have cost more,” Billy grunted, trying to keep his anger in check.

  “Give me that,” I ripped the map from Josie, tired of their bickering. “The town is about a mile that way.” I pointed to my left. “How about we start there and walk around to see if we can find anything.”

  We spent all day driving and searching the areas Caleb suggested. We had a hard time finding any clues. Most people weren’t too eager to talk to out-of-towners, which told me we were going to have a hard time getting the information we needed.

  It was almost night time and Billy suggested we call it quits for the day. I agreed only because my stomach was growling at me in protest. We stopped and grabbed some food on the way back. When I reached our room, I opened the door, and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw him sitting there. “Dean, what are you doing here?”

  “You didn’t think you were going to take a trip to Ireland without me, did you?”

  “I uh…”

  “Relax, no one knows I’m here and I’m not going to bust your ass or tell you how dumb it was to leave the hospital.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m here to help,” he smiled.

  “Really?” I asked not convinced. Dean never did anything that wouldn’t benefit him. I knew there had to be an ulterior motive.

  “Yes,” he glared offended.

  “How’d you even know where to find us?”

  “Cameron.” I looked over at her and she just shrugged. “Who you think got you the car to leave,” he said.

  “Why didn’t you just leave with us then?”

  “Would have brought up too much suspicion us leaving together so I waited until they discovered you were gone and left the next day so they thought I left to look for you.”

  I sighed relieved that he was here to help as oppose to attempt to take me home kicking and screaming. I threw the greasy bag of food down on the table and plopped down into a chair to take off my shoes. Dean automatically helped himself to the food.

  “So do you actually have a plan here or you basically flying by the seat of your pants?”

  “Both,” I replied.

  “Well, I had a long flight,” Dean crumpled up his napkin and threw it on the table. Then he got up a
nd made himself comfortable on one of the beds. I stifled an eye roll and got ready to crash. Luckily we managed to get a room with two king size beds so we were able to fit three to one bed. Unfortunately I somehow got stuck sharing a bed with Cameron and Dean. I wasn’t happy about it – Dean kicks in his sleep.

  I spent most of the night curled up close to Cameron. “Ella, I know I said I would be here for you, but even I have my limits.”

  “Sorry,” I mumbled. Tired of being kicked in the shins, I got up, grabbed a blanket and pillow and tried to make myself comfortable on the small couch. I would rather be cramped then kicked.

  We spent all morning searching and trying to find clues, but once again, nothing. Feeling exhausted and rundown, I asked if we could head back to the hotel for a little and take a break. When we got back to the hotel I found the nearest bed and crashed. I was so exhausted from this morning I didn’t even bother to take off my sneakers.

  I slept for several hours. Finally getting the rest I needed. When I woke, I noticed the girls were doing their hair and makeup. “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “We’re going to a club,” Josie replied from over her shoulder.

  “Josie, that’s not why we are here,” I said annoyed.

  “Hello, it’s Tristan we’re looking for. Where else are we going to start?”

  “True,” I thought.

  “From what Caleb told us Billy thinks we should start there. Billy said he remembered Tristan telling him he went to this club a lot.”

  “What kind of place is this?” I asked, looking at Josie’s choice of outfit. She had on her black knee high boots with a tight, short, red mini skirt and black lace halter top.

  “It’s a night club that caters to our kind.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means if you’re not on the supernatural team you don’t get in.”

  “What’s the dress code? Less is more?”

  Josie scowled at me. “We have to blend in and from what Josef told us about this place it’s very slutty chic. Okay, not his exact words, but you catch my drift.”

  “Josef?” I said skeptically.