Nevermore, The Complete Series (Boxed Set) (Twin Souls, Hybrid, Sacrifice, and Destiny)

by K. A. Poe

  “What! No...There is no way.”

  “I have attempted to wake you numerous times,” he stated. “Paul almost forced me to rush you to a hospital because he thought you were in some sort of coma.”

  I groaned and covered my head with a pillow to cover up the intensity of my scream. Salem plucked the pillow away and stared at me. “Was that really necessary?”

  “I think so,” I replied hoarsely, my throat now sore. “What all have I managed to hibernate through, anyway?”

  “Not a lot. Paul has been frantically worried this whole time. Hannah has behaved well, much to my surprise. I half-expected her to have killed him by the time I brought you back here. I cannot believe it slipped my mind not to leave them alone together while we went off to hunt.”

  “Oh...” I gasped, “I hadn't thought of it either. I was so hungry…then so tired.”

  He smiled faintly. “I do feel kind of useless now.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, sitting up on the bed and staring at him.

  “I am so used to serving you breakfast every morning.”

  “Well, summon me a rabbit,” I laughed half-heartedly. This did have me wondering though, “Why don't you ever summon your 'food' instead of risking getting spotted out hunting animals with your bare hands?”

  “There are limitations on my ability,” he replied glumly. “I can’t summon anything that is living.”

  “Ah, I see. Can you do me a favor?”

  “Anything.”

  “Summon me something simple. Like a chocolate chip cookie or something.”

  He looked at me awkwardly then with a flicker of his eyes, a cookie appeared on his held out palm. “Here…”

  “Thanks,” I said with a smile. “So how do you feel when you eat regular food? Like, the grape you had during the picnic.”

  “Sick,” he replied.

  “Food doesn't taste good to you at all?”

  “No.”

  As I contemplated this, I bit into the soft texture of the cookie. It tasted sweet and delicious and had me longing for more. “So I shouldn't be enjoying this so much, then?”

  He sat up and gave me another awkward stare. “You are enjoying it?”

  “Oh, yeah! It’s delicious.” I replied, biting into it again.

  “Bizarre,” he said quietly, watching me intently.

  “Why couldn't we have tried this first, you know…before tormenting the poor little bunny?” I asked as I popped in a piece of cookie I had ripped off.

  “I don't know...I had just assumed you would be like me,” he replied.

  The tone in his voice made me sick to my stomach. He sounded hurt and confused – no doubt still concerned with what he had done to me. For the time being, I had decided I wasn't going to let it bother me. I would find my grandfather, regardless how difficult it ended up being, and get answers from him. Until then, I would take things as they came, and enjoy the benefits of both worlds.

  Paul nearly tackled me when I finally arrived downstairs, engaging me in another tight unbreakable hug. I laughed nervously when he released me, noting his appearance. He looked like he hadn't slept in hours. “You look terrible.” I frowned.

  “Wow, thanks. You would too if…” he sighed, “I'll get a nap in here soon. I should probably check in at the shop. Kate is probably going crazy over there. I gave her a few calls but, well, you kind of know her.”

  “Yeah, I can imagine,” I replied. “Get some sleep; I'll wake you up in a few hours, okay?”

  “Sure,” he barely smiled before sluggishly wandering to the sofa.

  “Paul,” Salem said as he came downstairs, “there is a guest bedroom, if you would find that more comfortable. It is the door on the right.”

  “I've never been in there,” I said quietly, suddenly realizing the fact.

  “It's nothing compared to ours,” he grinned.

  Paul somewhat-reluctantly rose from the comfort of the sectional and lumbered up the winding staircase. Once he was out of view, I noticed Salem and I were alone.

  “Where is Hannah?” I asked, gazing around the house in case I had somehow missed her.

  “She went out...” he said quietly, uncomfortably.

  “She's not out hunting humans, is she?”

  “No. She promised she wouldn't...” he seemed just as doubtful as I had, “she claimed she was saying farewell to Karen.”

  “What?” I asked in alarm. “Why would she do that?”

  “As shocking as it may sound, she said she grew a likeness for her and felt bad at the idea of leaving her without saying goodbye,” he almost laughed. “I guess she’s never really had a friend before, not even a fake one.”

  “Saying bye? Is she going somewhere then?” I wondered.

  “Hannah isn't leaving, but Claire is...if that makes sense.”

  “Yeah, it does.”

  Salem stared at me for a moment, his eyes clouded with uncertainty and he briskly pulled me up against him. I found a strange joy in the fact that his skin still felt cold to me, and nestled my head against him. “I truly am worried about you, Alex,” he whispered, then parted away slightly to tilt my head up so he could stare into my eyes. “I could never forgive myself if I did anything to harm you, temporary or otherwise.”

  “I know,” I replied quietly, “but, you really shouldn't worry about it...everything’s fine. And besides, even if it wasn’t there’s no since in dwelling on it.”

  With a half-smile he leaned his head forward and brushed his cool lips against mine – gently at first, then progressively more passionate. I gasped at his touch, the way his hand wove through my hair and tangled it between his fingers. The moment felt infinite and magical – our bodies pressed close together, my heart thumping loudly against his hollow chest, our breath mingling together with each passing kiss – until the hideous, disgusted shriek broke us apart.

  “Yuck! Do you mind?!” Hannah shouted as she came in through the front doors. “I think I’d throw up if I had the ability.”

  Salem and I rolled our eyes at her. “You are the one who stormed in without knocking,” Salem replied, observing his half-sister tearing at the strawberry blonde wig on her head.

  Hannah dumped the false hair into the garbage and stared at us. “I told Karen I would see her again sometime. But, don't be surprised if she comes to you in tears in the future, bawling about her distant cousin Claire drowning or dying or something.”

  “That's horrible,” I fumed, “she deserves better than that.”

  “What's horrible,” she interjected, “is whatever I just walked in on.” She shuddered.

  With a sigh, I plopped myself down on the sectional. I had so much to figure out, and an unspecified amount of time to do it...but I needed Paul to be awake and alert in order for me to even begin.

  “I have something for you, Hannah,” Salem said, twirling something around in his hand. I glanced at him from the couch and saw the shimmering gold locket.

  “Oh!” she gasped with a pleasant smile – it reminded me of when Daniel first presented it to her. “I was certain it was lost forever, until I saw it the day of the picnic – it was really hard not to steal it.”

  “So I noticed,” he replied, “don't be too surprised if it's not everything you remembered.”

  “What does that mean?” she shot him a dirty look, “is it scratched? Did you break it? Is my picture gone?!”

  Salem laughed and shook his head, handing the jewelry over to her. She examined it closely, turning it around in her hand over and over to check for any damage. When she finally opened the locket her eyes lit up and a joyful expression swept across her face. “Salem...” she whispered, “how?”

  “The same way I summon anything else,” he said with a satisfied grin. “Do you like it?”

  “I love it...”

  My curiosity grew stronger by each passing second and without much thought I approached them and peeked over Hannah's shoulder. The locket still held the familiar image of the g
olden-haired child, but the opposite portion of the heart was no longer empty. Instead, it held the image of Daniel – before he became a vampire. I could scarcely stop myself from smiling, despite my hatred for the man. Hannah seemed like a completely different person when she wasn't ravenously hungry, angry, or trying to kill me.

  “Have you shown her the pictures upstairs?” I asked.

  “No,” Salem replied, “would you like to see them, Hannah?”

  The two of them wandered upstairs, leaving me alone in the now quiet living room. I took that opportunity to take advantage of the piano – my piano – once more. How I had not forgotten how to play Nevermore was somewhat of a mystery to me. In fact, I wasn't even quite sure how I came up with it to begin with. But all this time, it was nestled somewhere in the back of my mind just begging to come out, and as soon as my fingers hit those ivory keys it was brought to life again.

  My eyes lit up with amazement and I nearly stopped playing, startled by the alluring, hypnotic sound that I knew must have been coming from the instrument...however, it sounded so different from the tune I remembered so well. I was positive I hit the same exact keys as always, but this song felt and sounded so much stronger, so much more beautiful...

  Was this how it had sounded to Salem when he first heard it? It was no wonder he admired the song so much. This must be how music sounded to a vampire's ears...

  21. ANSWERS

  Five hours passed before I saw Paul again. I had grown tired of waiting and went swimming in the lake for about an hour with Salem. I was beyond jealous of the fact that he could remain under water as long as he desired without worrying about coming up for air. I knew it might be possible I could now as well, but there was no way I was going to risk it. Afterward, I took a quick shower and then sat in the nook reading until I watched my father finally appear at the bottom of the stairs.

  “Sleep well?” I asked, peeking over the top of the book. He still looked tired.

  He shrugged his bulky shoulders. “Could have used more rest, but it'll do for now.”

  Salem summoned him a bowl of clam chowder by request before departing hastily to feed himself. Hannah was upstairs admiring the photographs again, so I took the time to sit with Paul at the dining room table and discuss meeting my grandfather. I stared at him in silence while he slurped his soup noisily, then as he settled the spoon against the bowl I opened my mouth to speak.

  “I need to call Kate,” he said before I had a chance, “excuse me.”

  With a groan, I watched him leave the room. Ten minutes more of waiting passed before he returned with a grimace on his face.

  “She is having a terrible time over there, I really should get back to work...but I don't want to leave you.”

  I nearly laughed. “I'll be fine, dad, really. But, before you go, I have to ask you something.”

  “Sure, kid,” he said and sat back down. “What is it?”

  “I want to meet my grandfather,” I said after a moment's hesitation.

  “He doesn't know you at all, Alex,” Paul replied as he slouched in his seat. “He probably doesn't even remember that you exist.”

  “Well, if he doesn’t remember, we can teach him. I need to meet him. He might be my only chance at finding an answer to all this. You said so yourself.” My voice was nearly pleading.

  “What he tells you might not even be true. He's not all there in the head anymore.”

  “I thought the same about you and Salem at first when you told me the truth. For all you know, he isn't crazy at all.”

  Paul sighed. “I just don't want you to get your hopes up for something that may turn up to be nothing but an old crazy man’s stories. What if he tells you that everything about you is normal, however it turns out to be wrong because he doesn't know for sure, or because he is remembering wrong? Or what if he sends you off on some wild goose chase and gets you hurt, or worse?”

  “It's a risk I have to take,” I replied stubbornly. “I’d rather have something to go on, even if it turned out to be nothing…rather than just wait around for, whatever, to happen...”

  I could tell he was giving up hope of convincing me otherwise, and I fought the grin that wanted to come out. “His name is Richard Waldron. You can find him at Littlehaven Institute. It's in the next town over, and you will need some sort of proof that you are family. Just...keep in mind that you can’t trust everything he says as the truth, Alex.”

  “I will,” I said, finally letting the grin of success reveal itself. “Thanks, dad.”

  “You're welcome, I guess,” he frowned.

  “Go help Kate and then get some more sleep, I'll keep you posted on everything that happens. I promise.” We both stood from our seats.

  “You had better,” he replied, gave me a brief hug and headed for the door.

  Paul nearly bumped into Salem as he was leaving. Neither of them spoke a word to each other as they passed through the doors. Salem greeted me with curious eyes – curious red eyes. Would I ever grow used to that?

  “Where is he off to?” he asked as he embraced me.

  “Work,” I replied simply. “But before he left I talked him into telling me how to find my grandfather.”

  Salem let go of me and frowned. “I am not sure it's such a wise decision, Alex...”

  “Oh God, not you, too!” I grumbled. “Whether he is insane or not, I still want to meet him...even if he doesn't give me the answers at all.”

  He nodded solemnly. “I understand...just try not to think too deeply about anything he says to you.”

  I rolled my eyes at him and set off to check my laptop for more information on Littlehaven. I was relieved to discover there was a web page for the hospital. It was a simple site, with an off-white background and elegant text displaying the institute's name. The front page detailed how pleasant the staff was, how well taken care of the patients were, and all of the hospital's amenities. I scrolled through the site until I found what I was looking for. At the very bottom of the page was the word 'Contact Us', which led me to a page with a phone number, fax number, e-mail address, and physical address.

  “Salem, paper please,” I said without looking away from the computer screen. Seconds later and there was a piece of paper and a pen on the table beside me. I quickly jotted down the location's address. I was suddenly overwhelmed with excitement and anxiety at the prospect of meeting my grandfather, but I had to hold it back for now.

  My next step was to check a map to see just where exactly this hospital was. I found a website that gave directions and input Salem's address and the address to the hospital. “This is going to be a longer trip than I had thought.” I said glumly. “Hopefully it’s worth it...”

  “We'll be there before you know it, Alex,” Salem said comfortingly from behind me. I was glad to know he no longer opposed.

  22. LITTLEHAVEN

  The following morning, I packed up a few necessities and stuffed them in the Alero before climbing into the driver side seat. Salem was already waiting for me in the car, scanning the radio for something decent to listen to. I smiled when he stopped on a classical music station. Normally it was always set to that station, but he had let Hannah borrow the vehicle when she went to say goodbye to Karen and she must have messed around with the radio.

  “You think Hannah will behave herself while we are gone?” I asked as I rolled down the windows and pulled out of the garage.

  “I trust her enough,” Salem replied, a slight edge to his voice, “and I told Paul to keep an eye out...just in case.”

  “I am still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that she nearly killed me just a few days ago and now she is practically living with us.” I turned onto the winding, long road that led away from the Victorian and directed us toward town. The bumpy roads no longer bothered me; in fact they were scarcely noticed as we went across.

  “You aren't the only one,” Salem commented as we drove through the thick forestry, passed the broken down shed and the field of cows.

&nb
sp; My eyes veered off of the road temporarily when I noticed something bizarre in the field. I felt sick to my stomach and pulled the car over to the side of the road. Salem didn't seem to quite understand the sudden halt until he glanced at the herd of bovine. They all appeared frightened. “What's wrong with them?” I whispered as I watched a cow topple over into the dry yellow grass. Before I had the opportunity to scream, Salem leaned across the car and put his hand over my mouth. Something – or someone – was crouched down behind the fallen cow.

  “This is unexpected...” Salem's expression was blank and unreadable as he scanned the area. “It isn't Hannah,” he said quietly, “But, they are feeding on animals...”

  “A vampire?” I asked as he lowered his hand.

  “Yes,” he replied, still observing. My eyesight was nothing in comparison to his, even with being part vampire. I could barely make out the shape of a slender woman with long, wavy auburn hair.

  “Should I warn Paul?”

  He shook his head. “There is no sense in it. She is not hurting anyone – plus, if she does Paul will know.”

  “But, wouldn't it be better to warn him ahead of time...before someone gets hurt?”

  “I don't think she is going to hurt anyone.”

  “You said the same thing about Mark,” I replied harshly.

  He looked down and sighed, “You’re right.”

  I called Paul quickly and left him a message about what we had seen, and then drove off toward our destination once more. My mind was wandering as I struggled to keep my eyes on the road. There was another vampire lurking around, and while she may not have been killing humans, that didn’t mean she wasn't dangerous. My instincts told me to stay behind and keep watch with Paul, but I didn't know how much time I had. Plus, my dad and aunt could handle the situation...I hoped.

  We drove passed my old high school, where I would have graduated from three weeks prior had I made an effort to stay enrolled. Becoming a vampire hunter had taken away much of my free time, but I wasn't completely displeased with my decision to drop out. There were more important things for me to learn than math, science and English. I had to dedicate my time to learning new fighting techniques and phasing at will. None of the school subjects would have ever prepared me for the life I now had. I spotted Mitchell walking up the sidewalk toward the school doors, but I had no time to stop to say hello.