The Wanderers Beginning: The Wanderers, Reborn, & Unforgiven

by Jessica Miller

  “He called while you were asleep and I asked him if he knew anything about this place. He’ll be here in an hour, by the way, oh and apparently Dean made a big stink about getting his own room because you snore.”

  “Okay one, I do not snore,” I knew Dean just used that as an excuse to have his own room which was fine by me. “And two, why is Josef coming with? He’s only sixteen and I really don’t want him involved in this. It could get dangerous.”

  “Ella, he’s a local. He knows the ins and outs and could really help us out.”

  “I guess,” I mumbled to myself. I didn’t really know how I felt about including him in our little adventure.

  “Here,” she said, throwing what looked like a shirt at me. “I went shopping with Cameron while you were sleeping.”

  Clearly there was a lot that happened while I was asleep. “What is it?” I asked, holding up the dark blue satin material.

  “It’s a dress,” she said rolling her eyes.

  “Where’s the rest of it?”

  “Ella, live a little.”

  I sighed and got up to get ready. The dress was strapless and just covered my butt. I made a mental note to remember to not bend over. The blue satin matched my streaks and I have a feeling that’s why Josie picked it. I wore my hair down and Josie did my make-up. It was heavier then I would have done, but Josie insisted it completed my look. Then she handed me a pair of strappy silver heels and said we were to meet everyone in the lobby.

  Chapter three

  “Damn Ella, where you’d get that dress? Hookers R us,” Dean said. He gave me a look that said he clearly did not approve of his little sister wearing something so scantily clad. “You couldn’t find something that maybe actually covered you?”

  “Not my choice,” I mumbled walking past him. No need to start a fight now. “Is everyone ready?” I asked.

  “We just have to wait for Josef,” Cameron replied. “He should be here any minute.”

  “I didn’t know we would be babysitting tonight,” Dean complained.

  “Dean, knock it off,” I warned. As usual he ignored me. I fidgeted with the hem of my dress trying to pull it down as far as I could until we heard a rumble of motors. I looked around to see Josie and Cameron shrug. Billy and Dean exchanged a look. I decided to step outside to check it out for myself. I tugged at my dress as I walked out, feeling over exposed. Josie swiped my hand away saying it was fine. I stifled an eye roll and searched for the cause of the noise.

  In the distance I spotted a pack of bikers, who just so happened to be coming right for us. I took a step back. The biker leading the pack pulled right up next to me and took off his helmet. “Hey Ella.”

  “Josef,” I said surprised. His eyes widened as he looked me up and down making me feel self-conscious. His cheeks flushed red when Dean cleared his throat, indicating he was staring longer then he should have.

  “Um…yeah, hey,” he stuttered.

  “You already said that,” I teased, making him blush more.

  “Sorry I…”

  “It’s okay,” I smiled. “Are these your friend’s?” I gestured to the other bikers hoping to distract his gawking eyes.

  “Yeah, I hope you don’t mind. I thought they could help,” he said uneasy.

  “No, I don’t mind. It would help to have a few extra set of eyes,” I told him. “Are we just going to follow you then?”

  “I thought it would be better if you rode with us,” he said.

  “Okay,” I looked around. “Is there someone else coming in a car?” He gestured to the motorcycles. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “It’s easier this way. Hop on.” He held out his hand.

  I looked down at my dress and then back at Josef who was waiting expectantly. “This isn’t going to work.”

  “There’s enough of us that we can all ride,” he said, not understanding my issue.

  I shook my head. “That’s not what I meant.” I pointed to my outfit making him blush again.

  He got off his bike and handed me his jacket. “Here, this should help,” he said, helping me put it on.

  “Thank you.” I looked back to my friends and noticed Billy was admiring one of the bikes, going on about I didn’t even know what. I knew nothing about motorcycles. From what I could gather from the conversation he had one back home, but had to give it up. The guy offered to let him ride it and I’ve never seen Billy so giddy. Josie hopped on the back squeezing Billy tight while Cameron got cozy with one of the bikers who looked like Jax from ‘The Sons of Anarchy’. If I got to choose I would have picked him as well. Not normally into the rugged type but, hello, have you seen Charlie Hunnam on S.O.A.? Holy-hotness-batman.

  “I’m sorry but I’m not riding bitch,” Dean whined.

  “Dean, I’m not in the mood for this,” I said, glaring at him.

  “Dean, you can ride with Gina,” Josef told him, gesturing to the only girl in their group. She was dressed head to toe in leather and had two long dark braids that hung over the front of her shoulders. The ends of her braids were tied with suede shoe string and had feathers hanging from them.

  Dean turned to her and smiled. “Hey sweetheart, how about you slide back and let me drive.” She just looked at him and revved up the gas. Clearly she was not going to move and looked like the type you didn’t want to piss off. Dean rolled his eyes and hopped on the back.

  I carefully got on the back on Josef’s bike, put on the helmet he handed me, and grabbed on tight as we took off.

  I never rode on the back of a bike before. The wind felt cool against my bare legs and blew the hair off the back of my shoulders sending shivers down my spine. I wanted to spread my arms out wide and welcome the night. The ride was exhilarating like nothing else I’ve ever experienced before. I didn’t want it to end.

  Unfortunately the ride to the club was short. If I had the option I would have asked Josef just to ride around for a while. We pulled into a side alley next to the club and they parked their bikes. I slid off the back and handed Josef back his helmet and Jacket, but not before I made sure my skirt was pulled down as far as I could manage it. Josie cleared her throat when Josef started to stare again. He averted his eyes quickly, embarrassed. I just smiled bashfully and walked over to Josie and joined the rest of the gang.

  We followed Josef and his friends to the back of the club. He signaled for two of his friends to come forward. The three of them stood around the door while the others kept watch. “What are they doing?” I asked. Before anyone could answer me I heard a click and the door opened.

  I looked at Josef. “It’s magically protected. You have to know the secret code to get in.”

  “What’s the secret code?”

  “Now if I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret,” he smiled. I stifled an eye roll and followed everyone else into the club.

  Inside the bass was thumping so loud it was vibrating inside my chest. “I don’t know how you’re going to find anyone in here?” Cameron said, stepping beside me. I looked around the packed club. If I didn’t know any better she would be right. It would be almost impossible to find anyone in here, but I didn’t need to see Tristan to know he was here. I knew I would be able to feel him.

  I took her hand and pulled her over to a section near the back where we would have a perfect view of the entire club. There were two floors and we entered on the top. The top floor encircled the bottom dance floor and had couches and tables set up all along the perimeter.

  As soon as we sat down Dean automatically went to the bar. I tried not to let him bother me and concentrated on scanning the dance area. I stood near the railing by our table while my eyes searched everywhere. I closed my eyes hoping maybe I could get a feeling for him, but I got nothing. I told myself not to get discouraged. As I looked around I noticed the club was exactly how Josie had described it – slutty chic. The girls were dressed in what looked like very expensive hooker wear. As for the men’s choice of clothes, they ranged anywhere from suits to casual wear. Th
e men in suits had taken up most of the private areas which came complete with your own waitress. You could tell they had money to spend and weren’t shy about throwing it around.

  There were girls here who looked barely sixteen that were throwing themselves at the men in the private areas. My stomach churned at the sight of it and I wanted so badly to do something, but I had to remember not to bring attention to myself. I let out a sigh and looked out onto the dance floor again. “Here,” Josie said, taking a spot next to me and handing me a glass. I looked at her wearily. “Don’t worry. It’s just soda.”

  “You really think he’d come here?” I asked, taking the glass from her.

  “Well,” she drew out the word. “You knew how Tristan was before he met you and from what Josef and his friends have told me a lot of ‘high society’ as they call them, come here.”

  “High society, what is that supposed to mean?”

  Josie gave me a look saying she didn’t want to really explain it. “Ella, think about it,” she said softly.

  I let out a breath. I knew exactly what she meant. I just didn’t want to admit it. She was right. This was definitely the type of place he would come to. They catered to the rich and there were tons of women here who would do pretty much anything if you waved a few dollars at them. Not to mention both Billy and Caleb had said this was a place he used to frequent. Once again I felt my stomach churning. Josie gripped my arm sensing my uneasiness. “Hey, that was Tristan then. He’s not the same person now. Okay?”

  I nodded, closed my eyes, and took a breath. She was right. That was a different Tristan that came here. Not the one I fell in love with. “Why don’t we sit down for a bit?” When I didn’t budge she said, “It’s early yet. You know how Tristan liked to make an entrance.” I let her pull me down into one of the chairs.

  I had a hard time sitting still. I couldn’t stop fidgeting. I kept having this feeling that something wasn’t right. “Are you okay?” Josef asked.

  “Fine.” I lied.

  “You don’t look fine,” he said, looking at my shaking leg.

  I crossed my leg over the other to help the shaking. “Sorry, I’m just…anxious I guess.”

  “Maybe you should have a drink to take the edge off,” he offered.

  “I prefer to have a clear head.”

  “Do you want to dance?”

  “I…uh…”

  “Come on Ella. We’ll all go,” Cameron said, pulling me out of my seat and not giving me much of a choice. Dean and a few of Josef’s friends stayed behind while the rest of us headed down to the dance floor. I kept my eyes open, looking in every direction hoping to see any clue of Tristan. I wasn’t in the mood to dance, but I thought maybe being down on the floor would give me a better outlook.

  The girls mixed in with the crowd, dancing like it was any other night out at a club. I just focused on my surroundings. My eyes searched everywhere while I dodged excited flailing limbs. “Look Ella, you’re not going to find him if you keep looking for him,” Josie said.

  “What?” I did not understand anything she just said.

  “You know how they say you always find what you’re looking for when you stop looking.” I nodded. “Ella, it’s the first night. I know you want to find him, but you have to understand he’s not just going to fall into your lap. It might take us days before we even get a clue. So while we’re here please just try to enjoy yourself the best you can. Hello, we are in Ireland.”

  I took a couple deep breaths and tried to relax. Billy told us he was going to walk around and see if he could find out any information. I think he more or less just wanted an excuse to get away so Josie wouldn’t make him dance.

  I was forced into the middle of the dance floor to engage with the rest of crowd. Josie gave me an exaggerated smile trying to get me to give her one back. I complied but still had a hard time trying to settle my unease. I couldn’t get rid of this feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was off about this place.

  Josie and Cameron started to twist me back and forth forcing me to dance. To make matters worse Josie and Cameron started to bust out some old school 80’s moves. They looked so ridiculous I couldn’t help but laugh. Finally able to loosen up a bit, I joined them with some creative moves of my own. “I hate to tell you, but I think your moves are a little outdated,” Josef said, joining us on the dance floor.

  “We’re just having fun, come on.” I pulled him in between all of us. “Show us what you got.”

  For a young kid he ended up having some pretty good moves. I was actually starting to have a good time goofing around with them. I would still look over my shoulder every now and then and search the crowd, but I saw nothing. Then I remembered what Josie had said about finding him when I stopped looking. So that’s what I did. I put my full attention on my friend’s ridiculous moves.

  Shortly after, the music started to slow down so Josie and Cameron went to go get something to drink. I started to follow them when Josef stopped me. “Do you w-wanna dance?” he stuttered.

  I figured, what the hell, and turned back around to dance with him. I put my arms around his neck while still keeping my distance. I knew Josef had a thing for me. Ms. Kraft’s spell to block everyone’s thought was slowly wearing off so every now and then I would catch random things people were thinking. I didn’t want to do anything to lead him on. So I kept the dancing to a minimum with friendly conversation. “How you come to live with your grandparents?”

  “My parents died when I was little so my grandparents took me in.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I can only imagine how hard that must have been for you.”

  “It’s better than lying in a ditch on drugs.” I think he was attempting a joke, but I wasn’t quite sure so I didn’t say anything. “Relax. It’s okay. It happened a long time ago,” he said, giving me a small smile. I returned it with one of my own. “Can I ask you something?” I nodded. “Why are you looking for Tristan? I mean no offense, but he’s an ass and I can’t remember the last time he was actually serious about anybody. I mean the advice he used to give me would make any girl cringe and let’s not forget –”

  I stopped him there. “Josef. I know Tristan is your cousin and I know how he is or used to be, but he’s different now.”

  “I’ve heard girls say that before too.”

  “Well you can trust me when I say I am not one of those girls.”

  “Now that I could actually believe,” he smiled. “You really think he’s still alive? I mean how can you be so sure?”

  “I just know he is. I believe it in here,” I said, putting my hand over my heart. “Don’t you?” He shrugged. “You know you remind me a lot of him.” He stiffened and his eyes slightly narrowed. “That was a compliment.”

  “Some might think differently.” I was about to say something when he got the strangest look on his face.

  I pulled back. “Josef, what’s the matter?” I started to get that feeling in my stomach again. He didn’t move. He barely even flinched. “What is it? What’s wrong?” I asked again.

  “I think we have some party crashers,” he said.

  “What?” I turned in the direction of his eyes. Spread out along the railing were a few men wearing long, black coats, standing, and staring out into the crowd. My gut told me they were not here for the cocktails. I turned back around to ask Josef who they were when I saw more of them surrounding the other side.

  “Something tells me these guys aren’t good news. I think we should go.”

  I was just as confused as he was. Then it hit me. He knew. My father knew where I was and sent these men here to come get me. “They’re here for me,” I said.

  “What?” he looked at me confused. “They’re here for you?”

  “I don’t have time to explain. We need to go now.” He grabbed my arm and started to pull me off the dance floor. I looked back in time to see the men notice my hasty exit. I stopped and pulled my arm from Josef. “Ella, what are you doing?” I let Josef pull me away
right as one of the men pointed in my direction. Suddenly everywhere I looked there was a man in a black coat. Josef kept trying to pull me through the crowd, but I couldn’t move. There was no way we were getting out of there. I thought quickly, closed my eyes, and focused. I pulled strength from deep down and willed my powers to use everything I had to create a shield, hoping to protect us from anyone who got in our way.

  Well that’s what I tried to do. When I threw my hands up, the force of my shield was so powerful, all the men on the balcony flew back into the wall. Windows broke and glass shattered everywhere. The people on the dance floor fell to the ground cowering, scared from the blast.

  And then there was chaos.

  Crap.

  I just stood there and stared at my hands, amazed at what just happened. I heard people calling my name but it sounded like a far off echo. “That was…unbelievable,” Josef said, tearing me from my daze. My eyes quickly searched the top floor for my friends. Billy leapt from the top of the balcony down to the floor. I blinked and Josie was before me.

  “Ella, come on,” she said, pulling me.

  “Wait! Where are Cameron and Dean?”

  “Ella, I have Cameron. Get the hell out of there!” Dean projected to me. Knowing that Dean and Cameron were safe I let Josie pull me out.

  We had a tough time getting through the crowd with everyone running in different directions and scrambling to get to safety. The men in black coats were now making their way through the dance floor. One got a hold of Billy and I turned quickly throwing out my hand and his attacker flew across the room. “Nicely done,” Billy said as he grabbed me and started to shove me toward the exit. More men in black blocked our way and soon we would be surrounded. There was only one way we were going to make it out of there. We’re going to have to fight our way out.

  Billy was attacked by two men. I turned around to help him and was face to face with one of them. I struck first not waiting for him to get the upper hand. My attack took him by surprise. I guess he thought someone like me would not be able to defend themselves. He quickly recovered and came at me full force. I was able to knock him out and moved to help Billy. These men were strong and trained well, but thankfully we managed to break away.