“I’m risking my heart and my life because should the vampire I love die due to my carelessness, surely my heart will stop beating and you’ll have to bury me beside him.”
“What the hell does that do for me when you’re buried and powerful chaos ensues?” Auggy pounded a fist down on the table, cracking the wood.
“Augustine!” Aunt Claire cried.
“Stop, Claire. I love you, but this doesn’t involve you right now.”
“The hell it doesn’t! You’re talking to my niece, not some stranger. Lexi may be young, but she’s fully aware of the risks of this life. Hell, she just lost her parents a couple months ago, and you want to shove this down her throat?” Aunt Claire’s eyes were fiery as she glared at Auggy.
“This is official business, not a family affair. I’m a High Authority member, and the protection and balance of both vamp races is my priority, not tiptoeing around a teenager with too much power and responsibility,” he snarled.
Kellan’s chair flew backward into the wall as he stood, towering over all of us. His hands were fists at his side, a scowl prominent on his face. “She didn’t ask for this. In fact, you were the one who put her in this situation. So I think you need re-evaluate the risks before you go popping off at the mouth to her.” The veins in Kellan’s body were jumping, his muscles clenching beneath his clothes.
“Sit your ass down, Bancroft. The only reason you’re here is because she has you pussy-whipped.”
My jaw dropped at Auggy’s statement. In a flash, Kellan was over the table and on top of Auggy. The chair broke beneath the sharp punch Kellan delivered.
“Kellan!” I screamed.
“Augustine!” Aunt Claire’s voice came out as an angry shriek.
The men paid us no mind. My eyes were barely able to keep up with them the way they whirled about the room. Kellan slammed Auggy into the wall, cracking the drywall and causing the picture nearby to come crashing to the floor. Auggy tossed Kellan into the glass coffee table my mother had meticulously kept smudge-free. Kellan was back on Auggy before I could blink, throwing him across the room. He smacked against the ceiling, which sent him into the wall before he collapsed onto the floor.
“Take it back, you arrogant bastard,” Kellan ordered. The set of his face said he wouldn’t stop until Auggy did.
“Auggy, perhaps you were a bit harsh with your statement. Just retract it so we can leave the house in one piece.” Laurence’s lips were in a flat line. He was clearly irritated by the way the men were acting, going at each other like heathens. Felipe didn’t look any more amused than Laurence.
“Please, Auggy.” I couldn’t believe I was pleading with him.
“You heard them. If this continues, it will be because you solely refused to sacrifice an ounce of pride,” Aunt Claire declared. She crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot expectantly.
I looked around at my mother’s formal living room. They’d destroyed just about everything except the sofas. My mother would have had a fit at the sight of it now. Unexpectedly, tears welled. She wasn’t here. She would never be here again. My mother was gone. She wasn’t going to walk in and freak out about the destruction of her prized paintings or her imported accent tables. She wasn’t here to order new furniture online immediately for delivery in under a week. The room would stay exactly as it was now unless I did something about it, unless I changed it.
I felt a single tear trickle down my cheek. They’d destroyed a part of her that was still here, or had been. I was too upset to be angry. Without a word, I walked out the front door. I needed to get away; I needed fresh air. I needed to escape the reality of what I’d lost so quickly with my parents’ deaths.
I didn’t make it beyond my neighbor’s home before someone joined me. I was surprised to find Felipe keeping pace with me.
“You’ve been through a lot these last six months,” he stated. His hands were in his pockets as he casually strolled beside me. His black hair shone beneath the glow of a streetlight.
“We all go through things.” I shrugged.
“We know this is a lot to ask of you. We are not blind to what you’ve sacrificed.”
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not sure you understand my position. I’m not asking for an exception; I’m asking for freedom, the same freedom you offer to every other vamp out there. What I’ve been through has no impact on that equality.”
“Not every vamp out there has your power, Alexa.”
“It’s a power I don’t want. Who the heck wants to fear electrocuting everyone they come in contact with? I even took a chunk out of my own house, for Christ’s sake.” At hearing the shrill in my own voice, I sighed. Focusing on the sidewalk, I struggled with the petty things I missed from my human life.
“That’s precisely why you should let us put you somewhere safe.”
“Where I can rot away X amount of years of my life waiting for someone to be caught who very well may never be?” I sighed, shaking my head in dismay.
“It’s not a flawless idea, but the best option we have at this point.”
I stopped strolling and turned to face him. “Felipe, you can’t really believe that.”
His eyes narrowed. He was assessing me. He began wandering forward again. “Perhaps.”
“Haven’t you ever wanted to just be normal? Have you ever watched a human and been envious of the simplicity of their life?” My composure was staggering.
“I believe we’ve all endured that phase.”
“That’s what I want. I want to go to prom, graduate high school with the rest of my class. I want to go to college, achieve all I dreamed of as a human. I want to go shopping with my best friend without having to look over my shoulder and worry about being kidnapped or assassinated. I want to get married, have children. Children who will never have to worry about the political drama I do, children who could safely exist and not be persecuted for what they can’t change.”
“Even humans can’t offer that to their children. Racism still exists, and the political uproar over gay and lesbian rights has captured headlines all over. Persecution and bullying exist in both worlds.”
“Okay. I admit some aspects of that is merely a fantasy, but the others aren’t. I’m sixteen, not twenty-six. I know I’m immortal, but I’m not a vampire. I’ll age until I’m twenty-five, which is too old to pass as a high school student down the road.”
“You’re still in denial.”
“What do you mean?” I looked up, surprised to find we’d made it to the entrance of my neighborhood already. I turned around and headed back towards my house.
“You’re whining about what can’t be instead of accepting what is. You need to accept the fact that your old life is gone, Alexa. Stop complaining and start changing. If you want our world to be without persecution, you must create that world. Gandhi said, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ You control what will come to be. Perhaps you can’t control the cards you are dealt, but you can still win the game.”
I was ashamed to admit that he was right. I was acting like a spoiled brat, crying about what I wanted and couldn’t have rather than going out and getting what I could. It was time I put on my big-girl panties. I couldn’t change who I was, what I was, but I could make the best of it. I couldn’t change the loss of my human life, but I could re-prioritize and make the most of my new vamp life.
“What if we compromise?”
“I’m listening,” he stated, cupping his hands primly behind his back.
“Put me through boot camp. Teach me how to defend myself against the toughest of enemies so that I can protect this power. I’ll take some anger management classes to practice control of my emotions in between, and you can assign as many bodyguards as you want to shadow me until you think I’m ready. I’ll also let you slap on one of those tracker things to keep tabs on me.”
“The problem is that even the best soldier can’t survive alone against an army.”
The absurdity
in me wanted to say Chuck Norris could, but I recognized the humor as a nervous tic. “They can if they’re able to electrocute them.”
“And when you kill only half before you faint?”
“I’ll work on it. You can keep running tests. Dr. H and Dr. Zhan can dissect me as much as they want until we find a way to control that part of it. Trust me when I say it’s not fun to wake up in a new place every time.”
“I’ll speak with the others and follow up with you. Until then, I’ll see what security the Bladangs can offer until I screen my men. We’ve had an influx of turnovers lately.” He frowned at the last line. It was the first time the weight of his responsibility was visible. The High Authorities did a lot for vampeens and vampires, but I think most of the ones on the payroll cared more about the money than the impact of the position they served.
“I accept.” I offered him a smile.
“You truly are mature beyond your years. Far tamer than your counterpart was at your age.”
“Kellan?” My eyes shot to Felipe. My ears perked at his statement.
“Yes. He was quite the troublemaker. He had several episodes that nearly brought him to the concentration camp.”
My heart thundered in my chest. My lungs struggled to receive oxygen. I knew Kellan hadn’t handled his transformation well, and had rebelled. I didn’t know it was to that degree, though.
“What stopped you from locking him away?”
“Imara. She claimed he would redeem himself, but only outside the prison walls.”
“Imara?”
“According to Auggy, she’s seen the two of you coming for several decades.”
I was flabbergasted, left standing on the front porch as Felipe strode into the house. What was wrong with me, with us? Everyone had confirmed that we were the ones, yet I was still squabbling, fighting for a life I clearly wasn’t meant to have. Kellan evidently had his own internal battles brewing as well. We needed to come together on this. Granted, I was sixteen, but I needed to grow up and accept what was.
Regardless of what side of the fence you’re on, life isn’t easy. We all have a purpose. Kellan’s purpose and mine had been unmistakably defined across multiple generations and timelines. While it wasn’t easy to accept all that had happened and all that was written to, it could be easier if I stopped rejecting it. I wanted things. I wanted a different world for my children. I told Felipe I wanted freedom, and the only way to get it was to secure it myself.
I was finally beginning to understand why Sir Staten changed my cells. It wasn’t to curse me; it was to empower me. He himself lived on a rickety houseboat, stowed away in the middle of the ocean where no one would find him, where his blood was safe, because he knew what would happen, what was about to happen now. He was forcing me to accept what I was, what I was meant to do and be.
Chapter 7
I walked into the house and found Aunt Claire cleaning what was left of the formal living room. My skin lit up at the sight before me, a blue glow flooding my veins. I closed my eyes, inhaling deep to try to calm myself. It did me no good to get angry. The items were already damaged beyond repair; my mother was already buried and not rising to fix it.
I turned towards the dining area, where whispers carried over towards me. The three leaders looked at me. It was obvious they’d been discussing me. The moment I gave them my attention, though, they switched to speaking mentally.
“Where’s Kellan?” I asked anyone who was willing to answer.
“I’m sorry, honey. He took off.” Aunt Claire headed towards the kitchen to dump a dustpan full of glass into the trash can.
“What?” Shock ran through me. I couldn’t believe he would just up and leave without a note, without a goodbye of any sort, especially considering what we’d just been through.
“He and Auggy butted heads pretty bad, and the damn buffoon wouldn’t give in. I’ve never seen either one of them so pissed off. Kellan damn near choked the life out of Auggy before he ran off.”
“What? Kellan? Not that he’s not strong, but I just… well, Auggy is so military and comes off super tough. I guess I underestimated Kellan maybe.” I sucked my lower lip between my teeth. Guilt rose. How could I doubt him?
It seemed like Kellan was always being shafted around my friends. Between the Bladangs and now the High Authorities, I could understand why he was so upset.
“Alexa,” Felipe called.
I headed back to the dining area. “Yes?”
“We’ve decided to accept your offer, on one condition.” He cocked his head slightly, as if trying to debate what my response would be.
“What’s the condition?”
“Your friends join you in boot camp,” he stated.
Laurence sat primly between Auggy and Felipe. His features were unreadable, much different from the challenging glower on Auggy’s face. A cut on the top of his head, visible through his military crew cut, was just beginning to heal. Kellan’s handprint still marred his neck, the discoloration of his skin indicating the strength Kellan had exerted. Felipe sat on the other end of the table. He seemed almost quizzical in his expression, yet confident. He’d determined that I would accept.
“Just who exactly are considered my friends?”
“Kellan, Melanie, Craig, Gabriella, Jack, Kai, Kalel, Claire, Beth, Alejandro, Will, and whoever else you associate with on a regular basis,” Felipe replied.
“Guess that means you gotta go through it, too, Auggy.” I smirked. Too bad he wasn’t in a joking mood. I wanted to state the obvious, that Kellan had gotten beyond his defenses pretty well based off the damage, but knew not to push him. I couldn’t diminish the pride that soared inside me, though.
“I run the damn boot camp. I don’t participate,” he barked. “And after that little stunt your boy pulled, you’ll all be suffering by the end of day one.”
“I haven’t agreed to your terms, though.”
He stood, an intimidating glare in his eyes over my lack of acceptance. His chair tipped backward at his abrupt abandonment. “You coming or staying, Claire?” he asked, never looking away from me.
“If I’m going to have to make nice to an angry ogre all day for something I didn’t do, then I’m staying.” She lifted her chin defiantly, which only seemed to anger him more.
“Suit yourself.” He stomped out the door, ignorant to grace in that moment.
“If you don’t mind me asking, why the Bladangs? From what I’ve seen, they fight really well.”
“They rely too much on their daggers and other technology that may not be readily available.”
I was surprised by Laurence’s answer. Throughout Europe and Puerto Rico, while they had their daggers, the vampires seemed to be very strong at hand-to-hand combat.
“I can’t guarantee that their schedule will permit attendance,” I replied, ever so properly. “Also, you already assigned Al to another project.”
“What project would that be?” Laurence’s eyes narrowed slightly. It would have been missed by a human, but my vamp eyes noticed the ounce of tension crinkling the corners of his eyes more tightly.
“To get in contact with Romanov.” Didn’t these people communicate?
Both men promptly stood up. “We must be going now,” Laurence stated, adjusting his button-up shirt.
“Yes. It was a pleasure, Alexa. Here’s your new Blackberry. We’ll be in contact with a start date.”
I hesitantly took the phone, only then realizing mine must have been fried in the cellar. I shoved the device in my pocket. “I didn’t agree. I don’t think the terms are fair. My friends shouldn’t be punished because of their association with me.”
Felipe met me eye for eye. “I believe the American term is ‘guilty by association.’”
“It’s ‘innocent until proven guilty’ for me.”
“We’ll be in touch, Alexa,” Laurence said. They hadn’t conceded but hadn’t forced me, either. I knew it was the news of Romanov that was distracting them.
The moment
they shut the front door, I turned towards Aunt Claire, dumbfounded. I focused on her the moment I saw tears rimming her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
She tried to laugh it off. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just that, while we have our daily tiffs, this was the first time that we’ve actually fought and gone our separate ways.”
“I know it’s been awhile since you’ve been in a relationship, but that sort of thing is bound to happen at some point.” I put my arm around her, pulling her into my side. With her heels on, she was a good four inches taller than my petite frame, but fit perfectly beside me nonetheless.
“Thanks, honey. I’m sure it’ll blow over. At the very least he’ll come back for the sex.”
“Oh, God! T.M.I.!” I leapt away from her.
She chuckled. “Oh, please, honey. From the sounds of what I walked into, it’d be the same for Kellan.”
Heat burned my cheeks. There was nothing worse than being caught by your parent. “Uh, speaking of, I’m going to call and check on him. Mel turns at midnight tonight, so I plan to make her final human day a good one.”
“Okay. I’ll stop by her place later this evening.”
“You can come with if you want.”
“Oh, no. I’ll be fine here. I need to finish cleaning this room anyway.” She gestured to the formal living room.
A moment of silence passed between us. I knew we were both thinking about her, but neither one of us was brave enough to speak it aloud.
“Um, Aunt Claire, I know you’ve always liked this house, so I wanted to ask you if you wanted to have it.”
Her head popped up, her gaze aimed directly at me. “What?”
I looked around. “I have a lot of good memories here, but I can’t help but feel uneasy being here sometimes. You try to keep the bad memories at bay, but it doesn’t always work, especially with everything of hers still around.”
“What if we did a complete makeover? We could turn this place into the dream home you and Kellan want.”
I shook my head. “It wouldn’t be the same; plus, you can’t erase the things that haunt me. Every time I’d open the master bedroom door, regardless of the way it looked, I’d always remember that day…” My throat began to constrict as serum rose. “The day I found her.” My voice was barely above a whisper. I closed my eyes, concentrating on blocking out the flashes threatening my current thoughts.
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