“Okay,” I said, but I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.
I was just so fucked up. When I kissed Henry, I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to kiss anyone else ever again. But the same thing happened when I kissed Lucas. At this rate, I was going to have to flip a damn coin to decide between the two of them.
Chapter 19
After Lucas dropped me off, I called Henry. “Sorry I didn’t text you right away,” I said. “I was just so keyed up and I had to tell Lucas what happened.” And I was too busy kissing him.
“I’m just glad you’re home safe,” Henry replied.
“What about you?” I asked. “Did you talk with Emmett and Nicholas? And you realize we haven’t even considered what it takes to open the Gates of Hell?”
“Closing them is the bigger problem,” Henry said grimly. “Look, I can’t believe I’m supporting this, but Emmett swears you won’t be hurt when you get the hellhound fur. If you can just focus on that, then I’ll work with the other guys to gather the rest of the, er, ingredients.”
“Alright,” I agreed. “I’m sure Lucas will go with me, anyway. I’ll find out what he’s thinking and let you know.”
We said goodbye and hung up the phone. Normally, I wouldn’t bother giving Emmett an update, but I felt like we were starting to finally understand each other, to become friends. I grabbed my phone and texted him that Lucas and I were home safe. Thanks came the immediate reply.
I was so mentally exhausted that I flopped back onto my bed and closed my eyes. For once, the night didn’t drag. I wasn’t plagued with constant worry; no, instead I felt a strange calm. As if maybe, just maybe, things really could work out.
When Henry picked me up for school Friday morning, I opened my mouth to ask him if he’d researched the spell, but he held up his hand to stop me.
“I know what you’re going to ask,” he said. “All we do is talk about this situation. We used to have fun together. I miss my old friend. Do you want to go out tonight, do something normal for a change?”
“Sure,” I said, smiling. “That sounds great, actually. I’ve forgotten what normal feels like.”
“Me, too,” Henry admitted.
“So what did you have in mind?”
“A group of us are going to the fair tonight. I was hoping you would come,” Henry said.
“Oh.” I tried not to let the disappointment show in my voice. I had thought Henry meant we should do something together, alone. Even though I was forced to socialize at school, I was still a loner since I got back. Maybe it was because I didn’t feel like I could relate to anyone outside of Lucas, Nicholas and Henry.
But my friendship with Henry was still rocky at times, too many unresolved feelings between us. I might as well try to have a good time. And maybe I could forget, for one night, that my life was a complete mess.
“What a great idea! I haven’t been to the fair in forever!” I said with feigned enthusiasm. Every year, at the end of summer, a travelling fair comes through town and sets up rides and food stands for the weekend. I had been so out of it that I had no clue this weekend was when they were here.
“Awesome,” Henry said. “I’ll pick you up at six tonight. And, Rory?”
“Yes?”
“Let’s just have one day, that’s all I’m asking for, where we don’t talk about you-know-what,” he replied.
“Deal,” I said.
By the time Henry came to get me, I was almost looking forward to it. My parents were happy to see me going out with an actual group of friends, and for once I didn’t have to lie about where I was going.
I had assumed the group of ‘friends’ would include that cow Bunny, but I happily surprised when she didn’t show up.
For the next three hours, we rode every ride there, walked through the haunted fun house and looked at all the other attractions, like the world’s tiniest pony. Everyone except me filled up on the yummy, greasy carnival food. I didn’t know Henry’s friends that well, but they were all genuinely welcoming towards me.
I couldn’t remember a time I had laughed and smiled so much. And I truly didn’t think about my life; I just let loose and had fun.
“Thanks for inviting me. I had such a great time,” I said sincerely.
Henry smiled. “Me, too. We should do stuff like this more often.”
We said goodbye and I trudged towards my house. Tonight had been great, but tomorrow, it was back to reality.
Chapter 20
Lucas called me Saturday morning. I was sitting downstairs, watching TV with my mom. “It’s…a friend,” I said. “Is it okay if I make plans for tonight?” I asked her.
“As long as you tell me with whom, and where,” she called as I ran up the stairs to my room.
“Hello,” I answered.
“I was just about to hang up,” Lucas said. “But I’m glad I caught you.”
“What’s up?”
“Jet – I found out where he lives, and he’s not going to be home this evening. His hellhound will still be there, to protect his house,” Lucas replied.
“Let me guess,” I said. “Jet lives here, too?”
“He does,” Lucas confirmed. “It makes sense now – even though all these creatures pretend to live in harmony, there’s always been a power struggle. Jet wants to stay close to the gates, just in case things in Hell ever get out of hand, and Tobias is here in anticipation of the war.”
“Do you think Senara is here, too?” I asked.
“If she’s not already, she will be soon,” Lucas replied. “We have no time to waste.”
“So you want to go to Jet’s house tonight, then?” I asked nervously.
“Tonight,” he confirmed. “But I don’t care what Emmett says, I’m going in with you.”
I felt a wave of relief. “It’s comforting, knowing you’ll be there, but what if Emmett really is right? What if you go and something terrible happens to you?” Like you get staked.
“I don’t care,” Lucas said forcefully. “I refuse to base every decision on someone else’s instinct. We either succeed, or we fail – together.”
“Okay.” I hope you know what you’re doing. “Are you sure Jet won’t be home?”
“He’s been out of town for the past week, but he’s back tomorrow. I’m a black sheep, but Nicholas still has some connections in the vampire community,” Lucas explained.
“Sounds foolproof,” I muttered.
“Aurora, it’s now or never.”
The way Lucas said it sent chills up my spine.
“Just tell me when to be ready,” I replied, trying to keep my voice light.
“Sunset.” Lucas hung up the phone.
I started to call Henry, but then thought better of it. What was the point in worrying him? He had enough on his mind, studying the spells and gathering all of the stuff. No, it was best to get this over with, then tell him about it.
I considered pretending that I was going out with my new BFF Kelly, but if I mentioned her too many times Mom was likely to insist she meet her. If that happened, I’d be screwed.
Instead, I told my parents that Lucas and I were meeting some friends at the mall, and that it was most definitely not a date. Luckily, my mom didn’t interrogate me. She, Kayla and I had spent most of the day shopping together, and she was in a good mood after bonding with her daughters.
I was hoping to avoid Lucas having to come inside for another meet and greet with my mom, so as soon as he texted me that he was here, I barreled out the door before she could insist on saying hello to him.
“I won’t be back too late!” I called. “Love you,” I added for good measure.
I got into the passenger seat. “You ready?” Lucas asked with a strained smile.
It wasn’t really a question. I tried, unsuccessfully, to return the smile. The thought of kissing Lucas the other day flashed through my mind, but I pushed it aside.
“What’s the game plan?” I said.
“The hellhound lives in the fenced-
in yard around Jet’s house, which is on the outskirts of town,” Lucas explained. “I’m sure Jet needs seclusion, to be away from blood, like me. There aren’t any other houses for at least two miles.”
“We’ll have to act fast,” Lucas continued. “Hellhounds move at incredible speeds, but so do you. I want you to distract him – then run like your life depends on it. Make sure you stay along the perimeter of the house; when you turn the corner, I’ll be there, and when the hellhound comes by, I’ll grab him, rip out a fistful of fur.”
“But he’ll tear you to shreds!” I argued.
“I may not be as fast as you, but I can rival him in speed. If I catch the hellhound off guard, he won’t know what hit him. And listen to me – you do not stop and wait for me. You keep on running. I’ll be right behind you,” Lucas promised.
“But what if the hellhound manages to attack you?” I demanded.
Lucas sighed. “Do you have another suggestion for how we get the fur?”
“Yes,” I said quietly. “I go in alone. I take on the hellhound.”
“Aurora, you have to trust me – we have to trust each other.”
I didn’t answer. Lucas wasn’t going to budge. What else was there to discuss?
We didn’t speak again until we got to Jet’s house, or more like mansion. “Holy shit, you didn’t tell me he lived in a freaking castle,” I said. Lucas parked on the street, far away from the house, but I could see it looming in the distance, and it was gigantic.
“That’s another reason I’m not part of the vampire clique,” Lucas said. “They’re obsessed with wealth and power. I don’t care about either. I just want to survive and help keep the world safer.”
As we approached the house, I could see that it was set back from the road. There was no driveway leading up to the place, nothing inviting about it. A wooden fence that was over ten feet high surrounded the entire house. “How do we get through that?” I asked nervously.
“We don’t. We go over it,” Lucas replied.
I looked at him skeptically.
“I’ll help you over, then jump over myself,” he said.
“Let’s do this,” I said nervously.
Lucas gave me a quick hug. “You’ll be fine. Wait for me on the other side of the gate, unless of course the hellhound is there; in that case, you run.”
“It’s a huge yard. That would be really bad luck.” My voice was shaking.
“Don’t think about it,” Lucas instructed. Before I could say anything else, he turned me around to face the fence and lifted me up by the waist.
I quickly surveyed the yard from my new position; it was perfectly manicured, with immaculate rose bushes and flowery hedges. The problem was, it almost looked like a maze. The hellhound could be hiding anywhere.
Lucas held me up higher, obviously interpreting my hesitation as being too low to reach the top of the fence. I pulled myself over before I lost my nerve. I wanted to climb down the fence gracefully, hoping to make as little noise as possible, but I lost my footing and slid down it instead. It sounded like a stampede of elephants when I hit the ground.
You’re imagining it. It wasn’t that loud,” I tried to reassure myself. But don’t dogs have superior hearing?
Lucas was over the fence in no time. “I don’t see the hellhound. Run that way – “ he pointed “and I’ll stay here. When you circle back around, I’ll grab him.”
I nodded, too scared to speak, and started tiptoeing towards the side of the house. If I stayed along the perimeter, like Lucas said, I wouldn’t have to dart through the hedges and bushes in the middle of the yard.
When I got to the end of house and was just about to turn the corner, I looked back. Lucas was standing there, watching me. Still no sign of the hellhound. But I was moving forward at a snail’s pace. Go faster! You don’t want the hellhound to find Lucas first.
I broke into a jog, my eyes constantly scanning the yard. And now I was rounding the next corner of the house. What if he’s not here? What if he’s already gotten to Lucas? Should I turn back?
I stopped in my tracks, panicked, trying desperately to make a decision. I couldn’t just stand there! As each minute ticked by the hellhound could be closer and closer to finding Lucas.
I have to make sure he’s okay. It didn’t matter if that meant we abandoned the plan. Like Lucas had said, we would either succeed or fail together. His safety was more important than anything else.
I spun around, ready to retrace my steps, and that’s when I saw him. The hellhound was about twenty feet away from me, staring at me. His eyes were red, and his mouth was twisted back, his long, pointy teeth sticking out. He was at least triple the size of the biggest dog I’d ever seen in my life.
Before I could react, I saw a flash of red as the hellhound leaped through the air. He moved so quickly that it was a blur.
And that’s when I started running. I knew I was going fast, but was it fast enough? I glanced over my shoulder, scanning the dark for those red eyes. Nothing. How long have I been running? Shit. Why hadn’t I paid attention?
I slowed to a stop, confused. What was going on? Had the hellhound given up chasing me, doubled back around to kill Lucas instead?
Something was terribly wrong. And then it happened. My wrists were cinched together behind my back. The hellhound; he must be smarter than we’d anticipated, had waited in hiding until I stopped running, then made his attack.
But whatever was digging into my wrists didn’t feel like teeth. “Come with me,” said a deep male voice. “I won’t hurt you.”
I started screaming, struggling. “Let me go!” I said over and over. Where was my power now? I willed my body to heat up, for my superhuman strength to kick in, but nothing happened. I was being pulled backwards like a rag doll. I tried to turn my head, to look behind me, but all I could make out was a shadowy figure.
“This will be much easier if you don’t fight me,” the voice said again.
“Who are you?”
“I just want to talk to you,” he said, ignoring my question.
I was pulled through the front door, into a huge, dark corridor. Is this Dracula’s house? Am I in a haunted mansion?
Down a hall we went, then another hall. I was being dragged to a torture chamber, I was sure of it.
Finally, my captor opened a door and effortlessly slung me inside. I was thrown down into a chair, my hands tied behind me. I looked around. I was in a huge room, with a long, medieval style dining table in the middle surrounded by high-backed chairs, like the one I was sitting in.
The person who had bound my hands stepped in front of me. I kicked my feet, trying to stop him from binding those as well.
“Stop!” he commanded, stepping back. “I’m not going to hurt you. Get a hold of yourself, Aurora.”
I had been so focused on fighting him off that I hadn’t even looked at my attacker. When he said my name, I stopped struggling, stared at him in surprise.
How does he know my name? Most everyone I’d encountered only knew the legend of the living dead girl. And they certainly wouldn’t recognize me.
“Who are you?” I whispered. “And how do you know my name?”
“I’m Jet,” the man said. “I’m the one responsible for bringing you back to life.”
Chapter 21
I continued to stare at Jet, speechless, in shock. “Good, you’ve stopped struggling,” he said. “If you’ll agree to talk to me, I’ll unbind your hands.”
“You brought me back?” I asked in disbelief, finally finding my voice.
Jet nodded. He walked over and untied the rope that was holding my wrists together, even though I hadn’t said I would talk to him. Jet sat down in the high-backed chair next to me.
For the first time, I studied him. He was the polar opposite of the surfer boy that had sprung to mind when I first heard the name. Jet had shiny black hair and a chiseled face. He looked about twenty years old, twenty-five, tops.
I had noticed Jet’s height when he
was standing over me, but now I could also see that he was shredded. He was wearing all black, like Lucas preferred, except Jet had on a sleeveless shirt, showing off his bulging biceps.
Is it a prerequisite that to become a vampire you’ve also got to be insanely hot? Lucas was essentially a Greek god, and Jet could easily pass for a male model. And although I had never thought of him romantically – Nicholas had come to be like the older brother I never had – he was also a contender for the hottest vampire of the year award.
“Sorry for my clothes,” Jet said, seeing me study him. “These are my pajamas. Wasn’t expecting company.”
Those are some interesting pajamas.
I willed myself to focus. “My friend – is he okay?”
“Lucas is fine,” Jet assured me.
“Where is he? I want to see him,” I demanded, vaguely wondering how Jet knew Lucas.
“I’ll bring him here, after we talk. I needed to see you – alone,” Jet replied. “I promise you have nothing to worry about.”
“Okay,” I said hesitantly. “So talk. Tell me why – and how – you brought me back from the dead.”
“Sure,” Jet said, smiling. “I’m an open book. I’m not sure what Lucas and Nicholas have said about me, but I’m really not that menacing.”
He didn’t seem it. But I couldn’t let my guard down. I wasn’t sure if Lucas was safe, and Jet most certainly had an agenda, just like everyone else. Besides, he obviously knew that Nicholas was in town. Had he been spying on me?
“I’ve never liked demons much,” Jet continued. “But Leon – he’s one of the worst. When I heard he took over Hell, I almost felt sorry for the demons he was ruling. He made everyone call him Lord Leon.” Jet rolled his eyes. “He’s the farthest thing from a lord I can imagine.”
“About half a year after your death, I got wind of what had really happened. It was because of your murder that Leon became king. He had gone to a soothsayer.” Jet paused. “Do you know about any of this? Do you know how you died?”
I nodded. “It’s one of the few things I do know,” I said honestly. I was starting to relax, despite myself. Jet was either truly sincere, or he was the best actor I’d ever seen. I hoped it was the former.
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