by Unknown
I gauged the interior before entering the kitchen door of Nicholas’ house. Though I didn’t think I’d go to Disneyland after all, I didn’t want the group to give me a heaping dose of disapproval on top of my fight with Sam. The mood inside was the usual mishmash of Phil’s boredom, Scarlett’s annoyance, and Katie and Tyler’s infatuation with one another. I wanted to vomit.
Why do I come here?
Phil’s face lit up once he saw me. He vanished from the couch and reappeared at my side, taking my backpack from my shoulder before I could blink. “Hey, you … where you been?”
“School.” And taking my time.
“Thank God there’s only one more week of that. You stoked?” he asked with a mischievous grin.
I raised my eyebrow. “Maybe?”
“Big Senior on campus now.”
“If I survive finals.”
I glanced over at Tyler, who gave me a knowing look. Obviously, he hadn’t ratted me out yet.
“And we’d be getting ready for Texas A&M,” Katie purred while wrapping her arms around Tyler’s waist. “You aren’t still going, are you?”
“Well, yeah,” Tyler said with a shrug. “I have a scholarship.”
I chuckled at her mistake. Of course he’d go. He had a human life to live, after all.
A red puncture wound, just below his collar line, marred his neck—evidence of why he’d been ditzy as of late. I frowned at Katie. Though her sterile venom wouldn’t make him a vampire, she wasn’t supposed to be feeding on him, or any one for that matter. The unwritten tenant agreement for her to stay in Nicholas’ house required her abstinence from drinking blood.
“Does that mean you’re going to be hanging out here more often?” Phil said in my ear, while Katie begged Tyler to stay home.
“Yeah, I guess. I should try to get my job back.”
I continued to eye Tyler’s neck, sickened she’d break our most cardinal rule. The urge to confront them burned on my lips, but I refrained for fear Tyler would retaliate and tell everyone about Disneyland.
It didn’t matter. Everything was about to change anyway. Once I reunited with Nicholas, they’d all need to move out. And whatever Katie decided to do from then on would be her own business. She probably would go to Texas with Tyler and move into his dorm room anyway.
Phil put his arm around me and pulled me into his shoulder.
“Whatcha thinking about, Parker?”
“Nothing. Just finals.”
“Are you sure you’re not thinking about your trip to Disneyland next week?” Katie asked, her voice sweet like honey, but cutting like acid.
All eyes fell on me. Here we go.
“Your what?” Phil asked.
“That’s ill-advised,” Scarlet interrupted.
Stunned, the group all turned to her in unison since she rarely spoke out loud. I ignored her and kept my glare on Katie. No one had claim over my comings and goings, especially not neck-biting Katie.
“Yes, that’s on my mind as well, thank you very much for mentioning it. I need a vacation.”
Scarlett inhaled deeply, while Phil’s arms fell to his sides. Everyone’s uncertainty laced the air around me, its tentacles looking for hearts to constrict.
“You’re not welcome in Los Angeles. The line has been clearly drawn. If you are out at night for one instant, they’ll find you,” Scarlett said.
I smirked. “Have you forgotten the talisman? There’s nothing those vamps can do to me.”
“Physical harm, no. But psychologically…” Scarlet closed her eyes. “It’s just not in the plan.”
The plan.
She’d finally somewhat voiced her real purpose for being in our muddled group. Though everyone believed she liked heading up our coven, interested in our teenage drama and banter, I knew the truth. She only hung around to keep tabs on me so I’d fulfill my destiny, a fortune told to me by her deceased owner several months ago. Madame had read my palm and said I’d single-handedly wipe the earth clean of vampires, which ironically included her shape-shifting self. So of course, being in mixed company, the “plan” wasn’t freely shared.
But because each vampire’s lifeline depended on their maker being alive, in order to fulfill the prophecy, I’d have to kill Cain, the father of all vampires. Only then could they all be destroyed in one swoop. Though I hated the evil vampires of the world, and grieved daily the murder of my mother by one, I’d never do it, even if offered the chance. How could she even think I’d murder Nicholas, Phil, Katie and even herself?
“I’ll be careful.”
Phil shot me a pained look and opened his mouth, but closed it again. Guilt plunged into my stomach, but I kept my back stiff. I had to do this for me. If no one was willing to stand up against the vampires of L.A., then I’d go alone and use whatever guise it took.
“Chasing him is just going to backfire,” Katie said.
I shot her a look. “What did you just say?”
“Honey, Nicholas obviously wants space. Going down there will just make you look desperate.”
An ocean of feelings rippled through my chest, the biggest being anger. Katie of all people shouldn’t be lecturing me on “chasing” guys. That had been her whole reason for living, prior to becoming a vampire. Only after her beauty was enhanced with vampiric juju, was Tyler unable to fend off her charm.
“You’ve got some freaking nerve,” I finally said, my hands forming into fists.
Katie stood up and handed me a glare. “You just don’t seem to care that there’s more than just your concerns to consider in the Fab Five. As a group we decided a long time ago it would be best for you to stay here and wait for him to return. You can’t just go flitting off to Disneyland and put everyone in jeopardy. It’s stupid.”
“Shut-up, Katie!” I exploded, adrenaline opening the floodgates behind my words. “You have no clue the sacrifices I’ve given you. A safe place to stay, and a coven for all intents and purposes. And all I’ve received in return is your snappy tongue. My boyfriend could be dead for all I know and no one here cares. And way back when, we decided we’d discuss it. Not that I’d wait forever.”
“Well, the coven has spoken. Am I right?” She looked at everyone and when no one spoke up, she flipped her dark hair and turned her back on me. “For stuff like this, it’s just how it needs to be. So deal.”
The blood ripped through my veins like a freight train. Katie needed to understand who was really in charge here: me. And without my invitation, she’d be on her own, fending for shelter from the sun.
“I’m sick of waiting. I’m sick of everyone else deciding my future, sick of people disregarding my feelings. I won’t have it anymore!” I punched my accusing finger in the air toward the front door. Freezing her ass in its place would finally give her the scare of her life, and force a healthy dose of respect for what I’d given her. “I want you out of here, Katie. Out of my boyfriend’s house. You’re no longer wanted here!”
The front door, which I thought was locked, popped open of its own accord, startling everyone. Phil and Katie ducked for cover, but Katie’s body took flight in the air and moved toward the open doorway. She screamed and clawed her nails into the wood flooring. To my horror, the invisible vacuum sucked harder and pulled her body outside, dousing her in complete sunlight. Flames combusted off her skin before the door slammed shut.
Chapter Four
Katie’s screams trailed off into icy silence. Tyler ran to the door and opened it while Phil darted from behind the couch to the back part of the house, his arms smoldering.
“Shut the door!” Phil yelled.
“NO!” Tyler gasped. “What the hell was that? Where’s Katie?”
My eyes followed the deep grooves her fingernails had etched into the wood floor, their path leading directly to the smoldering pile on the doorstep. My throat constricted as I blinked in disbelief, then fell to my knees. Katie was only supposed to freeze in place, like Scarlett did the time I uninvited her. She’d just become frozen, una
ble to move, completely at my mercy. Not sucked out of the house! What had I done? I’d only mean to scare Katie, not…kill her.
“That wasn’t supposed to happen.” I shook my head and choked on the acrid odor of smoke that lingered in the air, horrified at the ash swirling at his feet. “I don’t understand.”
“What do you mean you didn’t mean to? Where’s Katie? This isn’t funny!” Tyler yelled.
“Tyler,” Scarlett said calmly, taking his hand and leading him back inside, shutting the door. “You need to sit down.”
“NO! This isn’t funny anymore. Joke’s over! Bring her back.”
“She’s gone.” Scarlett grabbed Tyler by the arms and dragged him to the couch.
“What do you mean she’s gone?”
Numbness deadened my thighs as everything played through my head like a bad horror flick. I didn’t understand why Katie and Scarlett’s uninvites worked so differently.
“I am so sorry.” I looked up at him through my tears. How could he ever forgive me? How could I forgive myself?
Cold hands gripped my shoulders from behind, encouraging me to rise.
“Go talk with Phil,” Scarlett whispered. “I’ll handle things out here.”
I couldn’t move, let alone think over the sound of Katie’s scream resonating inside my head, reminding me that I was responsible for her death. I looked helplessly at Scarlett as she motioned for Phil to come out of hiding and take me to the kitchen. Once we turned the corner, I collapsed into his arms.
“I didn’t mean to,” I sobbed.
He smoothed my hair and held me tightly against his chest. His body trembled against mine, rumbling out fear. “Shhh . . . it’ll be alright, Parker. Don’t be upset at yourself. We all know it was an accident.”
“That’s not what happened when I uninvited Scarlett. Katie was only supposed to freeze like a statue. Why? Why was she sucked outside like that?”
“You didn’t know,” he said, holding me tighter. “No one is blaming you.”
I pushed off and wiped my nose with my sleeve. “I just wanted to teach her a lesson.” My body shook, my legs morphing into rubbery strings of spaghetti.
He watched me with anxious, dark eyes, ones I couldn’t believe I was looking into. Nicholas had killed Phil. I’d watched him die. Flashbacks of his death flooded over me.
“Wait. You came back. How? Tell me how!” I pounded my fists into his hard chest.
Phil creased his brow and firmly grasped my wrists. “I don’t know. Alora did it. She never told me how.”
I pushed him off and ran to the living room, catching Scarlett as she worked her mind powers on Tyler. His teary eyes were closed while he rested his head on the back of the couch.
“Phil—Phil was brought back. How, Scarlett? How did she do it?”
She took her gaze off Tyler and drew her eyes into thin slits. “I don’t know.” Anger trailed her words, clueing me in to the fact that even if she did know how to bring Katie back, she wouldn’t share.
I swiveled around and plowed into Phil who’d appeared soundlessly behind me. “Phil, try to remember how she did it.” In a frenzy, I gripped his shoulders and tried to shake him. He sighed, unmovable, and shrugged. I turned to Scarlett. “Search his memories. Find out what happened!”
“He’ll only know what happened afterward, if that. It’s useless, Julia, and not part of the plan.”
Tyler, lost in shock, had reopened his eyes and gazed off into space, mumbling something incoherent. I wondered what Scarlett had done to him.
I regained my focus and glared at her. “No! We have to resurrect her. I’ll go and ask Alora myself if I have to.”
Scarlett disappeared off the couch and reappeared in my face. “Come with me.”
I allowed her to pull me into the kitchen when everything inside me wanted to strangle her neck instead. I had to make this right, no matter what and she’d comply—she had to.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “Why did that happen?”
“You uninvited her. What else did you expect?”
“Certainly not that! I expected her to react like you did when I uninvited you.”
“I’m a half-vampire. My rules are different.”
“Different?” I ran my hands through my hair. “Then you have to help me get her back.”
“No, I do not,” Scarlett said with a laugh. “What’s happened is done. Her foolishness and disrespect to the human who gave her asylum was her undoing. Some lessons are hard to learn, especially for a fledgling. I’m glad to be rid of her immaturity and human boyfriend. They were only weighing us down. I’ve started to erase his memories so he can go back to his world, free of us. I can’t allow you to lose sight of your destiny.”
A nervous laugh bubbled out of my throat. “Everything is a business transaction with you, isn’t it? You never give up. I’ve already told you, I’m not the one you and the Fortune Teller predict to solve this problem. And even if I am, do you realize what that means? I have to kill Nicholas.” I pointed toward Phil, who’d appeared silently in the hall. “And Phil and you. Is that what you want?”
She smiled, sending a shiver down my spine. “That’s how it all ends. I am ready.”
Phil’s eyes grew wide as his fear escalated. He moved into the room. “You really believe that, Scar?”
Scarlett turned, her aura filled with hope. “Yes. And it’s what we want. The redemption we’ve been searching for.”
He tilted his head. “How could sending me back to hell be what I want?”
Finally! Phil is seeing the light!
I folded my arms in victory, celebrating to have an ally for once.
“But that’s not where you’ll go. Julia’s the Seer and if we help her, we’ll earn a place in heaven.”
Phil arched an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”
“The ancient prophecies have foretold that when the deal was made with the snake and Cain, God made another deal as well. He bestowed gifts upon a Seer to search out and find Cain to destroy him. Julia is the Seer of this generation. If we help her fulfill God’s calling, we’ll be shown mercy.”
Phil looked at her quizzically and frowned.
Scarlett started to pace, her anger rising when she failed to convince Phil. “I didn’t believe Madame’s prediction at first because I’ve never been able to find a Seer in all my years of looking. I was beginning to think the prophecy was a myth, but then Julia walked into our fortune teller shop. Now I don’t believe it to be such a coincidence. Fate brought her to me. She’s the one, and I must help her.”
“What?” I moved between her and Phil. “What are you talking about?”
She glared at me, fire behind her eyes. “We are meant to work together, Julia. I’m to protect you from an early death so you can fulfill your calling.”
I pulled my head backward and sucked in a deep breath.
“I’d never let anything happen to Julia.” Phil appeared behind me and encircled his arms around my waist.
“Of course you wouldn’t,” Scarlett said. “But the Seers before Julia weren’t as fortunate. Once Cain discovered the prophecy, he had the Seers sought out and killed. And eventually, through time, the prophecy was forgotten, though the gifts were still present. The Seer of the age wouldn’t know why she was different. And without help, a vampire, naturally drawn to her, would find and kill her. But that doesn’t have to be Julia’s fate. With our help, we can find Cain and bring about the justice he deserves.”
“I don’t think so.” I threw up my hands. “Other than this stupid empathy, there’s nothing special about me. There’s no way I’m this… so called Seer.”
Scarlett lifted her brow. “Your empathy is one of the gifts. Why else would it be imperative you felt bloodlust?”
My mouth dropped open, my head spinning. Was this the purpose of our gift? Could my mother have been a Seer too? Did her empathy pass to me because of her death?
“No,” I whispered.
Scarlett�
�s face softened as she approached me. “You don’t have to be afraid. We’ll help you. Our death is not the end. There is life beyond this and everyone must choose whom they serve. Phil understands this. He’s experienced our fate and received a second chance. Next time, things don’t need to be the same for him.”
Phil leaned his chin against the top of my head, radiating sadness and protection. He’d already been trying to make good with God on his own and working to avoid returning to hell. But to assist in his own death? Though Scarlett’s speech sounded logical, Phil and I could never actually follow through with it. I’d die first.
I pinched my eyes shut in an attempt to stop the insanity. “What you want is impossible. Why can’t you see that?”
“Well, the prophecy states you’ll save us innocently, so when the time comes, you won’t have a choice. And the talisman will protect you so you can fulfill your task.” Scarlett waved her hand over my neck and the talisman warmed against my skin as if in agreement to her words. “Until the day of reckoning with Cain, your safety is all that matters.”
No. I touched the stone and glared at Scarlett. No, you’re both wrong.
“So if the talisman is protecting me, I’m safe wherever I go. I can even go to L.A. alone.”
She gripped the edge of a kitchen chair. “Julia, don’t you see the danger of venturing into an area were vampires specifically want your death and can control your thoughts? We can’t be there to intervene, to protect you. It’s too risky. Especially for a vacation.”
I shirked out of Phil’s arms, tempted to scream in her face. “Disneyland? You think I still care about Disneyland after what just happened? No. I’m going to see Alora. Katie might have been annoying, but she was my friend and has been for a long time. I can’t allow her to rot in hell because of my mistake. Alora knows how to bring her back.” And I miss Nicholas and have to know what’s going on.
“It’s unwise,” she said plainly.
I formed my hands into balls and looked to Phil for help. He pursed his lips. He sided with Scarlett on this one.
“Katie can help. She can gain redemption, too. It’s important I know how. What if someone else falls victim or there’s another accident?”