by Mandi Casey
Kieran went on about how previous Selecteds before me took time to develop their abilities. None of them had learned the skill in just a week. It was hard to stay focused while he spoke. Painful spasms streaked a searing path over my entire body, making it difficult to concentrate on his words. Kieran had known Grandma Maria pretty well. They were a team, working together to get rid of the rogues. They fought both vampires and werewolves.
He didn’t go into much detail about the other relationship they had after my grandfather passed away. He said that they both knew she wasn’t the one mentioned in the prophecy, but he didn’t say how they came about that knowledge. He had hoped she wasn’t the one to change the world by enabling the vampires to walk in the sun. The moment the Elders believed her to be the one to fulfill the prophecy, she would have been enslaved to do their bidding. Kieran hadn’t wanted that for my grandmother.
I was surprised. If what he was saying was believable, this vampire was actually capable of caring for a human very deeply. Who would have thought?
Despite my near delirium, one statement came through. Clear as a bell. He thought I was that Selected. Kieran believed I was the one that could tip the scale of the vampires over the werewolves.
The pain began to recede, and my vision slowly cleared. Finally my headache began to go away. I assumed the rogue must be on the way out of the building. I ran a tongue around my dry mouth and said, “Kieran, what will happen to the rogue? Where will your people take him?”
Kieran patted my knee through the blanket. “You don’t have to worry yourself with such matters. He will be handled, and you will never have to deal with him again.”
The imperial way he said that spurned me. Yes, it was something for me to worry about. “If we are going to have any type of working relationship, you should show me respect. Patronizing me, saying not to worry myself isn’t okay. Why don’t you go ahead and tell me?”
Kieran eyed me up a moment, then said, “The rogue will be taken to one of my properties out in the countryside. He will be interrogated. If he doesn’t tell us exactly what we want to know, I gave my Knights the go ahead to use any force necessary. We need the information he has. Then he will be terminated.”
The way he said that with such ease, about killing another being—especially one of his own kind—was downright frightening.
A chill ran down my spine. This vampire sitting in the chair next to the bed, the same vampire my grandmother had some kind of fling with, was a stone-cold killer. When he spoke of torturing the rogue, there wasn’t a fleck of remorse in his intense red eyes. At one point in time, that rogue had belonged to a vampire coven. He may not have been in Kieran’s, but he was in someone’s. Kieran’s expression was fierce and arctic. Pressing him about his morals might have to wait for another time.
“Sydney, when a vampire decides to betray his coven, his people, he knows what the repercussions are.” He stopped talking and tilted his head to the side as if he were listening to an internal radio. Then he looked back at me. “The rogue has been secured. He reports working alone. My men have work left to do before the sun comes up.”
“What do you mean? You don’t believe he was working alone?”
He sat forward on his chair and spoke in a lowered tone. “I have received communications from other covens. A band of rogues have grouped together. We don’t know what their goals are, but the rogue that breached my dwelling had to have a purpose. The Knights didn’t find anything revealing on the rogue that was here. But they will find out who he is working with. Once we know who they are, we’ll be able to address this group of rogues that have organized themselves against us and directly disobeyed the laws of the Elders.”
That sounded bad, very bad. A group of vampires that didn’t heed to vampire law was a problem. Blake would need to know about the group of unruly vampires, too. Kieran’s people weren’t the only ones in danger. Vampires didn’t seem to have too strict of laws from what Grandma wrote in her journal, but at least they had some type of governing body. Did they have the best interests of humankind in mind? No, clearly not. But the rogues lived by their own laws, and they didn’t give a dang about keeping their presence secret from humans. Satisfying their blood needs with discretion didn’t seem important to them, either.
I read in the newspapers, the murder rates have definitely gone up around Kenosha. The killings were described as gruesome animal attacks. Blake hadn’t mentioned anything about rogue wolves killing people. Was he withholding information from me? Regardless, Blake and Morris had to be warned about the vampires; the wolves may be a target.
After the nurse determined it was okay for me to leave, Kieran said he understood my desire to go home. I was glad he didn’t seem to get offended easily. Ticking him off was the last thing I wanted to do.
Pulling out of the parking garage, I had the window on the driver’s side door cracked open. The crisp air blowing on my forehead was refreshing. I could feel the last of the fever slowly recede. At least the sweat stopped pouring out of me. My poor dress. The material was damp from my lying on the bed in a pool of sweat, and the soft fabric clung to my body like a second skin. I groaned. My hair must look awful. I could feel it sticking to my forehead and neck, and I was sure the effect of the straightening iron had long worn off.
It was only an hour past midnight, but exhaustion and dehydration started kicking in.
My legs a bit unsteady, I wavered into the kitchen. Aunt Judith was standing over the stove waiting for water to boil. At the sight of me, she dropped the spoon in the kettle and rushed over. “Sydney, my dear! What happened?”
“I’m okay. A rogue showed up at the party, and then I got sick. But I’m better now.” I tried not to cry. Aunt Judith had always been the mother figure in my life, and right now, I could use my mom.
I headed for the refrigerator and grabbed a blue bottle of nutrient water. I guzzled the invigorating fluid to get a bit of strength. Hopefully, the drink would push the last bit of fever down to a tolerable level. The cool liquid descended down my throat, cooling my entire body from the inside.
Aunt Judith’s kettle sounded. She poured herself a mug of tea, and came over to sit with me.
“Sydney, you look terrible. What happened? What did the vampires do to you?” she asked, looking me over. She wasn’t connecting the rogue sighting with my current state.
“I’m fine, Aunt Judith. Kieran made sure of my safety. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Oh, did you have food poisoning or something?” she asked, concern and suspicion in her eyes. The skin above her brow cinched, despite the smile she kept plastered on her face.
“No. The rogue vampire’s presence ended up making me sick. I’m better now, just wiped out. I feel all grimy. I’m going to take a hot shower and go to bed.”
Aunt Judith stood, came over to my side of the table, and planted a motherly kiss on the top of my head. She patted my arm, and said, “Sydney, it might be best if you stayed here at the house for a while. I’ll run the store. Those damn vampires better not bother you anymore. You look awful, dear.”
“No, Aunt Judith. There’s no way I’m giving up the store. Working gives me purpose, and there’s nothing that would make me give that up for anything. Besides, the vampires know where we live. They can find me anywhere. If they want me, they already know where to look.”
She nodded.
The front door opened, and Brianna’s soft giggling traveled into the kitchen. My aunt and I went out into the living room as Brianna was brushing off a thin layer of snow from her arms and legs. She spoke into her cell phone, said goodbye to whomever she was talking to, and stuffed it in her purse.
She looked up at us from her bag and smiled. As she came further into the living room, she tripped on the step and laughed a little too loudly. Clearly my little sister had consumed more than a few drinks tonight.
“Aunt Judith! Sydney, my big sister! How the heck are you guys?”
She went to the overstuffed c
ouch, and dropped onto one of the cushions. She took her shoes off, and put her feet up on the cushion next to the one she sat on. Both couches in the living room had an old pattern that matched the lacy cloths placed under each lamp and candy dish in the room. The bright neon pattern of her clothing was a distinct contrast to the dark green couches.
“It’s late, girls, I’m going up to bed. Good night, you two.” Aunt Judith gave us each a hug, and went to bed.
Brianna sat and grinned at me. She had a look that told me she knew something that I’d want to know. Thinking of Blake, maybe whatever she knew wasn’t going to make me too happy.
“So, have you thought more of what we talked about?” she asked, a mischievous smile on her face.
I knew exactly what she meant. The answer was no, at least not in terms of having an actual relationship with Blake. But yes, I’d thought of him often, as a man, of his body, and how deliciously warm the room got the second he entered it. The heat that burned me to the core whenever he touched me, wherever he touched me, was also a thought that frequently ran across my brain, waving a huge manly flag with Blake’s naked body lying on it, insisting on my sweet surrender.
“No, it’s just not the right time. Besides, we hardly know him. He might be interested in me for the moment, but he may be one of those guys that once he gets what he wants he’ll dump me like yesterday’s newspaper.”
Brianna blew out a deep, exasperated sigh. “Syd, he’s not like your last boyfriend. You don’t have anything to worry about Blake hittin’ it and ditching you. Besides, we went to Morris’ house tonight, and Blake seemed all moody for some reason. He asked a lot about you. He wanted to know about our family, and stuff.”
He did? He asked about me? I could barely hide the smile that bloomed from deep within the core of my being. I relished the thought of Blake being moody because he knew where I really was, and why he couldn’t call or be with me. It made my heart sing, despite knowing that being with him probably wasn’t in either of our best interests.
“Oh, that’s nice. Don’t get your hopes up, though.” I kept my voice as neutral as possible. Brianna didn’t need to be given a glimmer of hope that I’d start dating her boyfriend’s cousin. I had enough guilt and lies to deal with. I didn’t need any more.
“Syd, I want to talk to you about something. We went to Morris’ house, well, it’s hard to explain. It’s weird. Don’t get me wrong, Michael’s family members are wonderful people and very welcoming. But something seems off. Like they all have some deep, dark secret they’re keeping. Every time I turn around, the family is talking in hushed voices. When they realize I’m lookin’ at them, they turn away, or completely leave the room!”
I didn’t want to keep having to lie to my sister. Good sisters don’t lie to each other.
“Brianna, I’m sure they just have to get used to having you around, you know? Don’t take it personally, okay?”
“Yeah, you’re right. It’s really important to me they like me. I like Michael so much. It just has to work out, Sydney. He might just be the one, but feeling like some weirdo when I’m around his family is really awkward.” She slurred a little as she spoke.
“Brianna, Michael really likes you, too. It probably wouldn’t matter if his family doesn’t like you, so take it easy on yourself. Besides, you’re great. There’s nothing about you not to like.”
Brianna smiled, put her head on the armrest of the couch, and passed out. It would be so easy sometimes to have her ignorance. Not having to know people were out there who wanted me dead, or wanted to use me for their own selfish, power-hungry purposes would be kind of nice.
I took the blanket off the back of the couch and tucked it around Brianna, making sure she was warm. Doing such a small gesture made me feel a little better, since lies seemed to float right out of my mouth like a river lately. The guilt was eating at my stomach like an ulcer, too. After turning off the lamp on the end table, I headed upstairs for bed.
The next morning, I woke to the feeling that someone was staring at me. Somehow, my Selected senses told me someone was in my room. The heat of their stare was like two laser points scorching my forehead. Exasperated that someone would bug me during my sleep, I took a peek out from under the blankets to see who the despicable offender was.
Blake!
What the heck was he doing in my room? Someone had to have let him in the house, those traitors. I’d have to talk to my aunt and Brianna. They weren’t supposed to be letting men up into my bedroom, especially not with me still in bed. My pink flannel pajamas and white tank top weren’t exactly what I’d call sexy nightwear. Seriously, the white tank top wasn’t exactly something to wear when company was over. My nipples showed right through!
“What are you doing here, Blake?”
He deserved a little venom. A girl had every right to be mad when her inner sanctum was breached, even if it was by the sexiest man alive. After all, I hadn’t invited him.
“Good morning to you too, sunshine. You’re quite the happy morning person.”
He rose from the chair positioned by the window, the one I use to look out into the night, almost every night, to stare up into the sky to watch the clouds and twinkling stars interrupting the pure blackness of night.
“Why are you here? And what time is it?”
There was nothing short of a tornado that could make me get out from under the covers. I refused to give Blake a peep show. My tank top left nothing to the imagination. I’ll admit it, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop myself if he came onto my bed and kissed me like he did at the store.
“We had a deal. You said you’d go out to lunch with me, sleepyhead. It’s past lunchtime.”
He smiled a wicked smile, and laughed when I tucked my head back under the covers and groaned.
“Can’t you come back later? Like say, tomorrow? I’m not even dressed yet!” This was no good. Blake was breaking down my ‘I refuse to date you’ barrier with every encounter. I had to get a hold on my hormones. Those naughty cheerleaders in my nether region were shouting the ‘do me right now’ cheer. I needed a shower. A long, cold shower.
“No, sugar plum. I’m not coming back later. We’re going to lunch, just like you agreed to. Come on, get a move on.”
He grabbed the bottom of the comforter and gave it a hearty yank. I held on with all my might. “No! Stop! Fine, whatever you say, but you have to go downstairs and wait until I’m done getting ready.”
After another playful tug, he stopped trying to remove my comforter, and smiled in victory.
“Okay, that was easy.” He laughed with self-satisfaction as he closed the door behind him.
The clock on my nightstand said it was one o’clock in the afternoon. My Selected response to the rogue vampire had really affected me from last night. I still felt like a car had run me over, and that my body had been moved off the road by a giant snow plow. Rolling out of bed and lumbering around to my dressers, I grabbed a pair of jeans and my big well-worn sweatshirt. With my comfy wear in hand, I headed to the bathroom.
A half hour later, Brianna, Michael, and Blake were all sitting in front of the TV watching reruns of V, the original series about lizard-like aliens that came to Earth to utilize the planet’s resources, people, as food.
Brianna turned her head when she heard my footsteps. The guilty look on her face told me she was the traitor who’d let Blake into the house, and up into my room. I’d have to talk to her later about that. Just because she liked him so much, and wanted me to date her boyfriend’s cousin, didn’t mean she was entitled to go around breaking girl code and betray me to get in good with Michael.
I grumbled, “I’m ready.”
“Looks like it’s time for us to go to lunch. See you guys later,” Blake said as he waved to my new enemies before we left.
Lunch was enjoyable, a little too enjoyable. Trying not to like him was hard, but the furry guy was definitely growing on me. Blake had chosen a nice, laid-back restaurant with big windows facing the
street. We picked a corner booth so we could watch the pedestrians as they stepped over the puddles made by the melting snow.
The broccoli-cheese soup and fresh-baked bread were delicious. He insisted I tell him every little detail of what happened the night before at Kieran’s. He made me go over everything from the second of my arrival to when my body sensed the rogue, then all the way to the time where I went to bed.
He even wanted to know what Brianna had talked to me about, which, of course, was none of his business. Despite my sister’s eagerness at breaking the sacred bond of our trust, I was not ready to do the same. Blake was interested in what Kieran had shared about the rogue, and how the rogue was probably working with an organized group. Blake’s anxiousness to go and tell Morris the information I shared was understandable. The information could be important to him and his pack. But what would they be able to do about it?
“Sydney, that rogue you sensed by your home, well, Morris thinks the rogue wolves are also starting to congregate together. His guards found an old, abandoned farmhouse on the northern part of the city. There were signs of wolves living there, together. Morris has been toying with the idea that the killings—” He stopped when my hand went up to interrupt him.
“What do you mean, killings?”
“Well, there’s been an increase in injuries and questionable deaths in the city at the last full moon rising. They were all in the same area. But the odd part about them is that they were far enough away from each other that now Morris is suspicious it wasn’t just one wolf. My father believes they were possibly working together.”
Aunt Judith mentioned the increased deaths reported in the newspapers, but she didn’t mention that they were happening on the same nights.
“Oh,” I said, trying to act nonchalant. “Well, Kieran mentioned there might be vampires getting together, too. Why now? Is there any significance of the timing as to why both groups of rogues would be working together with their own kind?”
“I really don’t know what it means, but you may be right. It’s a little odd, the timing of it all.”