by Zoe Arden
"Where do you want me to start?"
"How about you tell me what happened after you left that day. The last time I saw you."
Russell nodded. "Yes. The beginning. Or the end, I supposed. It depends on your perspective." He sighed and folded his hands in his lap, settling into his story.
"I was an undercover agent at COMHA for years. I'd been working on a high-profile case."
"Vlaski Ambrose," Colt said, nodding.
"Exactly. I'd spent months getting close to him. Gained his trust by pretending I wanted to be one of them. One of his Cult of V members."
"How'd you do that?"
"It was simple. I told him that I wanted the one thing that made sense to him—immortality. It was what he'd wanted, too." Russell's eyes turned watery. "The day I left—the fight we had—at the time, I'd thought it would make things easier for you and your mother. That if your last memory of me was a bad one, it would be easier to let go."
"You mean... that fight we had was staged?"
"On my part, yes."
Russ let that sink in for a minute. I patted Colt's hand, offering what little comfort I could.
"You thought you were going to die. Didn't you?" Colt asked.
"Yes. I did die that day. I had to. Vlaski wouldn't fill me in on his entire plan until I became one of them. So, I had to agree."
"You agreed to let him turn you into a vampire?" Colt asked, his eyes wide.
"It was the only way."
"So, what happened? How'd you escape?"
"COMHA had come up with a solution that offered me a chance to return to my previous life. If I took it within twenty minutes of being turned, the process might've been able to be reversed. But I couldn't get away. I'd only heard half the plan. Without the rest of it, we wouldn't have known how to stop them. By the time I got back to COMHA, it was too late."
Colt shook his head. "So, how'd you finally change back?"
Russell looked at me, confused.
"I didn't have a chance to tell him," I muttered, feeling stupid. I'd had plenty of chances to tell him.
Russell leaned forward. "Colt... I didn't change back."
I could see the comprehension slowly sink into Colt's face. "You're a vampire." It wasn't a question. "You said you made it back to COMHA headquarters, though."
"Yes, but it was too late. It was three days after I'd taken the solution. There was nothing they could do."
"But if you were at COMHA then that means Dean Lampton knew you were alive. He knew what had happened to you." Colt's hands were clenched into fists at his side. "Dean let me and my mother believe you were dead for the last thirteen years."
"I asked him to," Russ said quickly, but the words were lost on Colt as anger took over.
"I don't care what you asked. It's what Dean did that matters."
"Colt... don't do anything stupid."
"Stupid? Me? Never."
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CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN
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For the first time since I'd arrived on Heavenly Haven, the Sweetland Cove gossip mill was down. No one cared about my relationship with Colt. No one cared about Eleanor's wedding. No one cared whether Otis Winken's familiar, Tadpole, had stolen the apple pie off Natalie Vargas' back porch.
Sweetland was too concerned about Mistmoor Point. Their mayoral election was at the end of this week, but that wasn't quite good enough for Mayor Thomas. He'd called another town square meeting. Megan Lockwood was at his side, carrying coffee and a clipboard. Apparently, she'd gotten the job.
After Rachel Sessler's death, there hadn't been many takers. The rumor, at the time, had been that she was too involved with the mayor's affairs and that was what had gotten her killed. Well, that and the notion that all vampires on Heavenly Haven were inherently evil and had to be run out of town. The only good thing about this Mayor-for-All Rule was that it had people so wrapped up they'd forgotten they wanted to be vigilantes and run every vampire in Sweetland out of town. Ruling or not ruling Mistmoor was of more importance. Running the vampires out could be pushed to the backburner for now.
Rachel's death had all but been forgotten in lieu of the more pressing need to discuss Mistmoor Point's mayor—or the lack thereof. Since Mayor Thomas's last speech in the town square, everyone in Sweetland had rushed to their computers or Witchmobile phones and looked up the Mayor-for-All Rule Mayor Thomas claimed to have found in Heavenly Haven's ancient constitution.
Mayor Thomas had been right. If Mistmoor went ninety days without selecting a mayor, then he had the right to take over their town. Acting mayors didn't count, so Tazzie Singer was of no use unless she was officially elected to fill her husband's void, which she might be.
Mayor Thomas was speaking loudly into a microphone as Colt paced the ground next to me, a phone to his ear. He had one finger plugged into his other ear, trying to hear the person at the other end.
"No!" he yelled. "I want to speak with Dean Lampton now!" There was a brief pause followed by Colt muttering and cursing under his breath. "Yes, I know he's busy. No, I can't call back."
This was his third attempt to speak to Dean in the last twenty-four hours. I wondered if I should have told Russell not to give Colt too many details about his days as a COMHA agent. I had naively thought that learning his father was still alive would be enough for Colt, but I'd been wrong. He wanted answers from the man who had kept his father's true existence from him.
"No!" Colt screamed again. He held the phone away from his ear and looked at me with crazed eyes, as if to say, can you believe this person?
I could hear Dean's secretary, Shauna, on the other end, sighing and trying to calm Colt down.
"Fine!" Colt yelled. "But you tell him that if he doesn't call me back, he'll be sorry!" He hung up his phone and stuffed it angrily into his pocket. A few people around us were staring, but their attention faltered when Mayor Thomas started banging his fist on the podium like a gavel.
"Mistmoor has no right to reject the Mayor-for-All Rule!" Bang! "If our positions were reversed, Sweetland would have to submit to the rule as well. And we would, because Sweetland Cove obeys the law!" Bang! "There is nothing we can do to help Mistmoor unless they help themselves!" Bang! "And if they can't help themselves, then we will be forced to act on their behalf!" Bang! Bang! Bang!
There was a general outcry of approval, followed by applause. I couldn't help thinking that the mayor was contradicting himself in his own speech. One minute Sweetland could do nothing to help them, the next it was our duty to help them. I looked at Colt, whose cheeks were still flushed with anger. He was barely listening to the mayor's speech.
Mayor Thomas looked at Megan and held out his hand. She immediately handed him a bottle of water. I couldn't remember Rachel ever following the mayor around with water and coffee. Megan was acting more like an office gopher than his Girl Friday. Rachel had been far from a gopher. Still, I supposed you had to start somewhere. I had the feeling that Megan had taken the job more to prove that she was an adult than because she was really interested in politics.
Lucy had told me that their parents were ecstatic that Megan had left Coffee Cove—officially, she was on "hiatus"—for the mayor's office. Apparently, Brenda and Vincent Lockwood had hopes of Megan one day making mayor. I spotted them in the crowd, clapping at everything Mayor Thomas said, even the accidental burp he let out when he opened his mouth again.
Sweetland was divided. Half the town wanted to take over Mistmoor. The other half wanted nothing to do with Mistmoor. Their mayoral elections were at the end of the week though, so I didn't think there was much cause for concern. Mistmoor's mayor might be arriving on the scene a little late, but they would still be arriving.
"Power to Sweetland! Down with Mistmoor!" someone in the crowd shouted.
I shook my head, wondering if things could get any worse. An hour later, Lottie Mudget wal
ked into our bakery and I knew that they could.
Colt had disappeared. He'd kissed me goodbye and dashed off, mumbling something about his mother and seafood, or at least that was what it had sounded like. I'd gone on to Mystic Cupcake. Eleanor and Trixie had attended the town square rally for a few minutes before deciding it wasn't worth their time. They'd come back to the bakery and started in on the morning's chores.
My father had already finished our jalapeno lemon poppers with time-stood-still extract. The extract was something new I was working on. It didn't really make time stand still, it just sort of froze your wrinkles so that they weren't as obvious. The magical equivalent to Botox.
"How was the rest of it?" Eleanor asked when I came in.
I shrugged. "The same as the last one. Lots of yelling. Lots of cheering. Lots of people being silly."
Eleanor filled a display tray with extract-free white chocolate raspberry tortes, for those who wanted the sugar without an added pick-me-up. The bell above our door chimed just as I was tying my apron. Lottie Mudget came rushing in. Her hair was frizzy and her eyes were wild.
"Have you heard the news?" she asked. We all looked at her. She wasn't even pretending that she'd come in for a pastry. She was here to deliver gossip. And whatever it was, it had her cheeks glowing pink, as if she'd just come in from a vigorous run.
"If you're talking about the mayor's little speech out front, yes, we've heard everything we need to hear," Trixie said. She shot me a look and rolled her eyes. I was glad we were back on speaking terms, though things between us were still a little tense. She'd told me that she believed that I believed everything I'd told her about Melbourne, but that didn't make it true. She wanted to hear it from him. I hoped he stayed away from her. Now that he knew I was aware of his connection to Vlaski, he had no reason to return.
"No," Lottie said, "Mistmoor declared war!"
Eleanor dropped a gum drop. Trixie dropped a cupcake. I dropped my jaw.
"War?" Eleanor asked. "That can't be right."
"It is. Just a few minutes ago. They said there's no way that they will allow Mayor Thomas to take over their town and that his threats meant war. No one in Sweetland is allowed inside Mistmoor's borders, or they'll be considered an enemy and taken hostage."
The way Lottie was explaining things, she was being highly dramatic. I couldn't be sure whether it was just her way of making the story sound more important than it was, or if what she was saying was actually true.
The door chimed and Sheriff Knoxx walked in. Eleanor's face, which had grown red and pinched, relaxed when she saw him. She put down the tray she was working on and went to hug him. I guess she needed a little comfort.
"Zane, please tell me that what Lottie's been saying isn't true."
"What's she been saying?"
"That Mistmoor's declared war on us."
Sheriff Knoxx sighed and rubbed his right temple. "I'm afraid she's right." Eleanor's face turned white. "I got a call from Lincoln not more than an hour ago. He barely managed to stop a crowd of Mistmoor residents from coming over here and causing trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" Eleanor asked.
"Apparently, a few of them had gotten ahold of lightning in a jar. They were planning to throw it out around town, hoping to break up some of the tourist hot spots, maybe even cause some damage to our buildings."
My throat felt suddenly dry. Lightning in a jar wasn't the same as a nuclear bomb, but it was bad enough. If they were willing to do that, what else were they willing to do?
"Mayor Thomas is an idiot," Trixie said decidedly. "Mistmoor will have its new mayor in a few days anyway, so what does it matter?"
"Yes..." Sheriff Knoxx looked at the ground.
"What's wrong?" Eleanor asked. "Don't tell me that there's a problem with their elections."
"No, not exactly. It's just that, well, there's talk of a tie. Polls look like it might come down to Tazzie Singer and Thaddeus Wright. If it's a tie, then they have to have a run-off election. If they do that, then Mistmoor won't meet the deadline and Mayor Thomas can enact his silly rule."
I tried licking my lips but my tongue stuck to them. "You mean there's a chance we could actually go to war?" I asked him.
"I mean that, for all intents and purposes, we're already at war."
* * *
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
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"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked Colt for the third time.
"Yes. Stop asking me that." He was being snappish with me. I didn't hold it against him; I just didn't like it.
"Don't shoot the messenger," I said.
He stopped gathering his things and looked at me. "What are you talking about?"
"Ever since you found out your dad was... different... you've been treating me like it's my fault. I never meant to hurt you, if that's what happened. I just wanted you to know the truth. And so did he."
Colt's face changed, softened. He walked to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "I'm sorry," he said, kissing the tip of my nose. "I'm sorry," he repeated and kissed my lips. I kissed him back, relishing in his warm embrace.
When he pulled away, his eyes were steady. "I need to see Dean," he told me. "I have to ask him why he never told me or my mom the truth. I need to know. Do you understand?"
I nodded. If our positions had have been reversed, I'd have been livid with Dean. I'd have punched him in the mouth, not sought answers
"Are you going to try and sneak him a truth extractor?" I asked.
He shook his head. "Those don't always work. You know that."
"Yes, but it's better than nothing. What if he won't answer your questions?"
Colt's face darkened again. "Then I'll find a way to make him answer."
I shivered at the look in his eyes. It was a dangerous look. When he left for the ferry, he promised to phone me after he left Dean's office. I wondered if he'd even be able to get into COMHA headquarters. He'd pretty much been fired from his job. Would they let in a disgruntled employee?
I went home from Colt's, instead of to the bakery. I was probably just wasting time but I wanted to sit down alone for a little bit. I just wanted a moment of silence. Just for me. A moment where I didn't need to think or worry, where I could just sit.
I made some coffee and sat on the couch. Snowball curled up in my lap. Tootsie was at my feet. Rocky had gone to the bakery this morning with Eleanor. Apparently, he was tired of Tootsie and Snowy using him as home base during their games of tag. They'd decided that a home base that could move would make the game more difficult. Rocky thought they were annoying him on purpose.
I scratched Snowball's head as she purred in my lap. It was nice to just sit. A few minutes went by and Snowball's head jolted up. She opened one eye and looked around the room.
"Everything okay?" I asked her.
"Snowball smells vampire."
I jumped off the couch. Melbourne. I didn't want him here and he knew it.
There was a soft knock on the front door. I stared at it. Melbourne had never come through the front door before. At least not since he'd been officially declared dead. I wondered briefly what had become of the ashes that we'd found. Sheriff Knoxx had taken them as evidence, but the last I'd heard they had never been buried.
Not that it mattered now. The ashes didn't belong to Melbourne. Didn't belong to anyone, in fact. Melbourne had told me that he'd created them from some old wooden chairs that he'd never particularly cared for. Or so he said. Now, I began to wonder if they might've belonged to someone that he didn't particularly care for.
I opened the door, prepared to tell Melbourne off a second time since he clearly hadn't understood the first. Russell stood there, looking nervous. "Can I come in?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah, sure." I was so surprised to see him at my front door that instead of moving aside to let him in, I just kept standing there. A
statue.
"Um, Ava?"
"Yes?"
He made a little scooching motion with his hands. Step aside. I finally moved for him, and he entered my home. I offered him a seat in the living room. He accepted but then paced the floors the entire time.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
His lips twitched. "I saw Colt getting on the ferry this morning."
"Yes. He's going to see Dean Lampton."
"That's what I was afraid of." His pacing changed from medium speed to full-out sprint. It was like he was running a relay with himself.
"Why? He just wants to talk to him."
"Yes, except that if Dean knows that Colt has had contact with me, that he knows the truth about me, it could hurt him."
"How?"
"Dean doesn't like loose ends. He also doesn't like people who know as much as he does. He likes to stay one step ahead of everybody. Know just a little bit more than the people under him, or even to the side of him."
"Okay, but Colt doesn't—"
"Colt doesn't realize that Dean Lampton is just as dangerous as Melbourne."
I thought about my last encounter with Dean, when he'd threatened me.
"You don't think Dean would hurt him, do you?"
"Hurt him? No. Kill him? Maybe. Set him up? Definitely."
"Set him up? For what?"
"If word gets out that the Cult of V is about to make their attack, then Dean might use it as an opportunity to weed his garden, so to speak. Get rid of those around him that he has no use for anymore. He may try and make it seem as if Colt was involved somehow."
"Colt involved with the Cult of V?" I laughed. "That's ridiculous. Besides, don't you have to be a vampire belong to their little group?"
"Not anymore. That's the other reason I'm here. I found out something through a close friend. The Cult of V is accepting new recruits, and they're not being too picky about them."