Midnight Rose

by Dani Hart

  “Yes, but it was too late.” He grabbed the mug and carried it to the kitchen sink. “Be lucky you just found out about immortals. Monsters became real for me

  when I was eight.” He stayed at the sink, unmoving, looking broken all over again.

  I wanted to offer some sort of relief, so I went over and just barely touched his shoulder, afraid he would recoil. When he didn’t, I caressed his shoulder with my thumb, just enough to let him know I was listening and that I cared. He turned into me and wrapped his arms tightly around me and cried softly in the crook of my neck, breaking every damn piece of me. The man I was supposed to be fearful of, who was supposed to protect me, needed me, too.

  IT WAS HARD TO see Elijah like that. It would be hard to see anyone go through what he had. He retreated upstairs to shower and to take a moment for himself. The thought of him sending me home after his confession weighed on me because I didn’t want him to. This overwhelming feeling of needing to be near him was consuming me. We had shared something so ugly and yet so beautiful at the same time. He had let me in. He trusted me. I owed him the same.

  When he came back downstairs, he looked refreshed. His hair was wet, slicked back with some strands escaping around his face, and the gleam in his eyes had begun to return.

  “Sorry about that before.” He brushed off our moment.

  “Don’t be.” I shook my head. “I feel honored you shared that with me.”

  He had a seat on the couch, and I had a strong urge to sit next to him, but I kept my distance. I was unsure where we stood as far as our friendship went, and things were getting more and more complicated, and lines were blurring quickly.

  “I’ve never told anyone,” he admitted as he rested an elbow on his knee and brushed his hands over his face, looking emotionally exhausted.

  No wonder he broke down. “That’s a lot to carry around for…” It dawned on me that I had no idea what his age was. “How old are you, Elijah?”

  “Twenty.”

  Wow. He was only a few years older than me and had already gone through so much. I couldn’t imagine. “What do you do for The Order?”

  “My father was trained for missions to apprehend rogue immortals.”

  There was that word again. Apprehend. It gave me the chills not knowing exactly how The Order defined that.

  “He was obsessed after what they did to my mother, but no matter how many he brought in or how strong he appeared, he still mourned my mother. Until the day he died.”

  I slid my hand over my mouth, trying to stop the tears. The tragedies just kept coming.

  “I was too young for missions, but they taught me about my gift. The surge of energy wasn’t just an adrenaline rush. I spent the better part of my youth learning how to use it. They said I was a tracker, and I wasn’t the only one, although I’ve never met any others.”

  “Can you track anyone?” Was he tracking me?

  “Yes, if I’ve been in physical contact with them.”

  I sat back in my chair, chewing on my hand. “The accident…” I trailed off, not sure how to finish my thought.

  “Yes.” He nodded apologetically. He was sharing a secret, and I could tell it was killing him for having it.

  “I felt something when we shook hands in my kitchen.” I rubbed the palm of my hand, remembering the black hole sensation that had nearly scared me to death. It was inexplicable at the time, but now I understood.

  “Now that we have…connected, you’ll always feel something when we touch. I’ve heard sometimes it’s just a shock, but other times it’s been…” he stared intensely at my reaction, “more.”

  More was right. Every time he touched me, it was a euphoric rush of tingles all over my body. Except when we met. That was disturbing.

  “Are you all right? Your cheeks are turning red.”

  “Yeah…I…uhh…it’s hot in here. Are you hot?” I waved my face wildly. This was so embarrassing.

  “Let me get you a glass of water.”

  My eyes were glued to him as he passed by me to the kitchen. It could have just been wonderment that he was…extraordinary, but the way he made me feel, it was intoxicating.

  “Here.” He smiled as he handed me the glass.

  “Thanks.” I guzzled it down, and he laughed in mild amusement.

  “What?” I smirked.

  “Nothing.” He brushed it off.

  I placed the glass on the end table and asked, “Do you feel it, too? When you touch me?”

  He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. “Yeah.”

  Okay, this was getting uncomfortable. Good uncomfortable, but uncomfortable nonetheless.

  “You should know that when I pulled you from the accident, I had already been watching you for a while. I was instructed to keep my distance until it was necessary. Nobody planned on the accident, and I couldn’t just watch you be mauled by that thing,” he spat fiercely. “That night I had no choice but to interject. My job was to keep you safe, and that’s what I did, but…”

  His pause had me waiting on the edge of my seat.

  “Over that year before the accident…” he searched for the right words, “you were so young, but I became captivated by you.”

  My skin pebbled. He was admitting to stalking me, and instead of being frightened, I was excited. I couldn’t explore this with him any further. It felt wrong.

  “How old were you when you were assigned to me?”

  “Seventeen. You were technically my first assignment. I had a few trial runs, but you were the first where I was on my own.”

  “That’s a pretty big responsibility for someone who was barely legal.”

  “Yes.” A haunting sadness overtook him. “That night changed me. You changed me. My objective became less about a responsibility and more about a commitment. I didn’t want to be on the outside looking in anymore. I wanted to know you.”

  I fixed my eyes on the floor. “Why didn’t you then?” I was uncomfortably comfortable with our conversation.

  “Become a part of your life?”

  I nodded apprehensively.

  “That wasn’t the assignment. It’s complicated, Abby. I was asked to watch you, not interact with you. And I highly respect the person who requested me.”

  Tension built as the confession hung thickly between us. “I shouldn’t have said that.” He stood up, shaking his head in disbelief. “This isn’t about me or how I feel about you.” He rubbed his face hard, the stress eating at him. “What I tell you has to stay between us, Abby. You can’t tell the Hunters.”

  I braced myself and nodded for him to continue.

  “You are extraordinary, too.”

  My eyes widened. “Like I have an extraordinary gift?” He nodded. “That’s impossible. You’re insane.” I laughed nervously and paced frantically.

  Elijah stood in front of me, putting both hands on my shoulders and looking hard into my eyes. His touch radiated through my body. “Think about it, Abby. You know when things don’t feel right. You can sense it.”

  “Lots of people have great instincts,” I challenged.

  “Yes, but do you ever question yours? Do you ever feel conflicted about them?”

  I shook my head. “No.” And I hadn’t. Not once were my instincts wrong. “Is that not normal?”

  He grinned. “No. Not unless you’re Spiderman.”

  I rubbed my face, exhausted from the rapid-fire revelations. This was all way too much, and I was totally buying into it. Because you know why? Because my instincts were telling me to.

  “The Order of the Crest wants you. They seek out Specials so they can train them to join The Order.”

  “So, we are called Specials now? I don’t understand. Let’s say for a second that I play along with this. How would they even know about me?”

  His hands dropped from my shoulders. “That I need to show you,” he said darkly. He left the room, and my stomach tightened. My heart filled with terror when I heard the front door open and then close. I couldn’t s
top my hands from trembling. Maybe my instincts were wrong this time. I took a few steps to the back door, but it was too late. Elijah returned, and I wasn’t ready for who he brought with him.

  “Dad?” I looked back and forth between them, confused. “No, no. This can’t be happening.” A wave of nausea hit me like a ton of bricks. I clutched my stomach, bending over, wishing for an escape. Elijah’s debt was to my father, but worse yet, my father had been betraying me. It stung. Bad. I couldn’t keep the tears from racing down my cheeks.

  “Abigail, please.” My dad ran to my side and tried to comfort me.

  “Don’t.” I waved him away. “I can’t.”

  He stumbled back. “You have to listen to me.”

  “No, I don’t.” My voice cracked. I did have to listen, but right now, I needed to sit. White spots were dancing in front of me, and the dizziness was thick in my head. I fell into the chair, placing my head between my knees, sobbing, trying to block out the whispers between them. “How could you keep this from me?” I gritted through my teeth. I peeked up and the regretful expression that had taken hold of my dad almost made me falter. Almost.

  “Please, just listen to what I have to say before you draw any conclusions.”

  “Too late. They’ve been drawn.” As painful as this was and no matter how angry I was, he was my dad and this was my life. Elijah, Wes, immortals, Specials. It was my reality now.

  He sat across from me, leaning over his knees with his hands tightly clasped together, the skin on his dry knuckles splitting. The silence was deafening. “I am a member of The Order of the Crest.”

  The oxygen had been punched from my chest. “What?”

  “So was your grandfather.”

  He watched my pained expression deepen. My grandpa and I were so close. He told me everything. So I thought.

  “And so was his father. Our commitment to The Order goes back four generations. I wanted it to end with me. I didn’t want my daughter involved in this. I wanted you to have a normal life.”

  I cackled. “Normal? You mean blind. You wanted to keep me blind.”

  “Yes.” His head dropped shamefully. “But I knew when Wes returned, it was only a matter of time that you found out. I knew how close you two were.”

  My eyes darted up. He knew about Wes. “So, you knew about Wes? For how long?”

  “The Order has always known about the Hunters, but Wes was an enigma. We didn’t know about hybrids. When William took a human as his wife, it drew a line with The Order. It was an act of war, whether he meant it to be or not. He tried to plead his case, but after they found out about Wes…”

  “Oh, no.” I threw my hand over my mouth. “They killed her?” My breaths shortened, only adding to the fog in my head. My father and Elijah exchanged a knowing glance. “But she is human,” I whined. “How could they do that?”

  He sucked in a deep breath. “That’s why I called Elijah. I didn’t know what they would do if they found out about you and Wes. They are capable of anything, Abby. There are days I think they aren’t any better than the immortals.”

  “Think? They aren’t.” Elijah’s story ran parallel to Wes’, and it made my stomach turn. “So, now what?”

  My father tried to rub years of stress from his face. “We leave,” he mumbled, his heart thick with remorse.

  “What? No.” I shook my head. “I can’t. School…” The tears flowed again. “Kendra…Mom?” Mom. “Does she know?”

  He shook his head. His betrayal was for us both.

  “The Order knows about your gift. They’ve been wanting to recruit you, but now with Wes in the picture, I don’t know if we can trust their intentions.”

  How could the world possibly spin out of control and explode into a million pieces, only to come back together all wrong? “How did they find out about my gift?” My voice cracked.

  Pain filled his eyes. “Your grandfather.” I sucked in a shocked gasp. “He was so proud and wanted you to be a part of The Order. He was determined, Abigail, even though I vehemently disapproved. That’s why our relationship soured. He went behind my back and told them about you. I was trying to keep you from all of this.”

  “Wouldn’t they have recruited me anyway?” Everyone before me had been a member of The Order.

  “I had pleaded with them to spare you. When they refused, I made a deal with them.”

  He was in so much turmoil. It was so hard to see him like this. My father, the pillar of confidence and strength, was falling apart before my eyes.

  “What deal, Dad? What did you promise them?”

  A tear fell from his eye, and I knew it was bad. Not just bad, but tragic.

  “I promised them my firstborn son.”

  “But you didn’t…” No, no, no. Oh my God, no. I couldn’t breathe. The world was closing in on me. “Please tell me you didn’t.” He looked away. “You couldn’t. Right, Dad? It’s not possible!” I shouted through broken words and a bleeding heart.

  “I thought,” he cleared his throat, “I thought I could stay emotionally detached…”

  By the surprised look on Elijah’s face, I knew he didn’t know. I had a brother. Somewhere. It was something I had always wanted. My only wish.

  He continued, “I was so angry with your grandfather, Abigail. I hated him. Everything I had sacrificed to keep you safe… When he got sick, I didn’t visit. I wanted him to die alone for what he did.” He shook his head sadly. “I can never forgive him, Abby. Never. I lost my son.” He choked back the tears. “You lost your brother.”

  I was still crying, and I was biting my fist so hard, I had punctured the skin. It was so hard to digest what he was telling me. All the facts were jumbled together, not making sense.

  My father crawled out of the chair and over to the bottom of my feet. He took my face in his hands, his red eyes locking with my own. “I will do whatever it takes to protect you. Say the word, and I will hide you from The Order and the immortals. I will take you and your mother far away from all of this.” He was desperate, teetering between forgiveness and tragedy.

  My eyes burned, and my heart ached. There was only one thing on my mind. “I have a brother?” I asked painfully.

  He nodded. “Yes, Abigail. You have a brother,” he confirmed.

  It was a sliver of sunlight on a stormy day. A light at the end of a dark tunnel. My wish, in its messed up way, had come true.

  “I want to meet him,” I announced, wiping my runny nose.

  My father stood up. “It’s not that easy. He doesn’t know about you or even me for that matter. I handed him over right after he was born.” His voice darkened. “He doesn’t know about us.”

  I immediately thought of Elijah and how tragic it was for him to grow up without a mother and then without a father.

  “Why, Elijah?” There had to be a connection. There had to be a pretty damn good reason for Elijah to come here behind The Order’s back. I looked over to Elijah, who was leaning on the wall with his arms across his chest, watching us restlessly.

  “When I went to The Order to ask for a tracker, Elijah came forward. He felt he owed it to me. Elijah’s father and I were partners within The Order. We had promised each other if anything happened to either one of us, we would watch over the other’s family. One night, we were ambushed by a group of immortals we had been following. Blane was killed.” He looked over at Elijah. “I kept my promise. Elijah was only thirteen and still needed guidance. The Order let me look over his training.”

  A revelation hit me. “That’s why you were always gone.”

  “Yes, I was with Elijah. I was relieved when he came forward. It gave me the opportunity to watch over both of you and not have to be so absent anymore. They agreed. It also allowed me to control the information that went back to The Order. Elijah only reported back what I told him to. It was bad enough they knew about your gift. I couldn’t let them find out you were running with immortals,” he said, disgusted.

  “I love him,” I whispered, barely audible.r />
  “I know you care for him, Abigail. I tried to keep you two apart when you were younger because I knew what the other Hunters were, but it was a lost cause. You always managed to find your way back to him. I wanted to believe in your instincts, but I also knew he could be immortal, too, and just being around them puts your life in danger.” He paused. “Is he, Abigail? Is he immortal?”

  I was surprised he didn’t know the answer to that and debated whether I should tell him after all the secrets he had kept from me. For committing my brother to a life of slavery, but in the end, I knew my father would do anything for me. He proved that by giving away his own child to keep me safe. “He’s a hybrid,” I said softly.

  “That’s what I was afraid of. The Order had its suspicions, but they haven’t been able to confirm it. He’s been hiding it well.”

  “Are you going to tell them?” Panic was rising. If they were willing to kill a mortal, I was terrified what lengths they would go to, to kill Wes.

  “No, they don’t take kindly to immortal evolution. There’s no telling what they would do to him or those that know about him.”

  Chills ran down my spine.

  “When the Hunters relocated here years ago, I developed a relationship with William. The Order assigned me to keep close tabs on them. They were afraid of what William would do after they took his wife. They didn’t know about Wes at first. Not until I reported it.”

  My eyes widened with fury.

  “Before you get upset with me, you have to understand, that was my job. I didn’t know you two would become close or that it would endanger your life. It was a monumental mistake. I see that now, but I can’t take it back. I can’t change what I did, but I can control what happens.”

  Everything was splattered on a wall painted with tears, betrayal, and blood. Lives had been taken, and trust had been lost. Where did we go from here? The room was quiet, only the crackling of the fire making its presence known.

  My father sighed deeply. “No one knows who The Order is, and no one can ever know. It’ll put everyone’s lives in danger, including your mother’s. Do you understand, Abigail? You can’t tell the Hunters.”