They all turned to him, as if they’d forgotten he was there.
“That’s none of your damn business. You may work for the head vampeens but you don’t work with us,” Rafi growled. His delivery caught me off guard. I knew he was a tough vamp, but he usually kept quiet, leaving the others to do the talking.
“I don’t want to work for you. I’ve got a cushy gig where I’m at. I do want to help Lexi though, and I have access to information she needs to catch this Jack character.”
They all exchanged glances with each other, deciding whether or not to trust John.
“Hello! Me. Glass.” I yelled.
“Damn dalley doopers. Who gives a waddle about this schnucker? Let’s focus on helpin Lex,” Craig interjected.
Kellan and Craig helped me stand while Gabi, Kai and Kalel all quickly worked around each other removing bits of glass and metal from my skin and tattered clothes. Given their vamp speed, they were done in just over a minute. I instantly breathed a sigh of relief. I already was beginning to feel normal again.
“Ugh that sucked,” I groaned, stretching my limbs.
“Yea well, it sucked for us too,” Gabi sighed, biting her lower lip.
“What’s wrong?”
“He almost got you Lex. We’ve been taking this way to lightly. We’ve known the risks, but we haven’t really been facing them. Now we have to.” She was right, as much as I hated to admit it. She looked at the group of testosterone driven vamps all in varying moods around the room. “What’s our next move guys?”
I pulled the paper from where it was still tucked into my bra. I hadn’t even read it yet.
London Bridge is falling down.
–Jack
“London. We’re going to London next,” I firmly stated, passing the paper to Kalel and the others. “I’m going to take a quick shower and change. Then we can leave.”
I ruffled through my dwindling pile of clothes. How many more outfits would I lose on this mission? Not that I was lacking thanks to Aunt Claire, but still. I sighed, grabbing my familiar comfort staples from my suitcase: VS capri sweats, a slim fit tee, hoodie, panties, a bra, socks and sneakers. I needed to call Aunt Claire. I’d left her a voicemail before I left and a note, but after what happened just now, I couldn’t help but remember my parents and inevitably worry about her.
Five minutes later I was fresh and clean, hair thrown into a messy bun, old clothes in a bag to be disposed of somewhere besides the trash, and bag packed and ready to go.
“I called for a taxi van,” Al said, walking out the lobby doors where we’d just checked out.
Kellan hugged me to him as we waited for them to arrive. I was feeling much better; clearer, but still uneasy.
“Give me your cell phone.” John held out his hand. I passed it over to him, throwing caution to the wind where he was concerned. I didn’t know if I could trust him, but I knew I didn’t not trust him. He could have easily finished me off back there, but chose not to. That had to count for something. “I just programmed my number into your phone and called my phone so I’d have yours. I’m going to pull some files back at the embassy. They have a lot more info than they let on about Jack. As soon as I secure it, I’ll contact you.”
“Thanks John.”
“Johnny,” he scowled sarcastically.
“Sorry,” I smiled. “Thanks Johnny.”
“No prob. You take care of yourself. You’ve got something Lex. I don’t know what it is, but it’s big. I can feel it,” his Australian voice melted around the English words.
“I didn’t picture you as the sensitive type.”
“I’ve got my walls up, but I’ve learned to trust my gut.” He paused. It looked like he wanted to say more, but didn’t continue.
“Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.” I extended my hand. He looked down at it before placing his own within it. His grip was firm, self-assured, yet careful at the same time. The same tingles I’d received the first time I touched him reappeared, quickly sending my body into a flutter.
“I’ll be seeing you,” he said. In a blink he was gone, fast as lightning. I was left somewhat shaken and longing, staring into emptiness.
“Cab’s here babe.” Kellan pulled me from my wonderment. I nodded, still trying to process everything; knowing I had to get a grip on everything before I lost it all, especially where my love life was concerned.
"Well, Spain was nice, at least what I saw of it," I sighed as we climbed into the large van.
"Didn't you live here?" Gabi asked.
"Yea, but I was young and don't remember much."
"Send in the cleanup crew," Kai ordered. He immediately hung up and returned his phone to his pocket. I guess we did leave a pretty big mess behind us that needed to be cleaned up for the humans.
The ride to the airport was silent and tense. We all knew we were heading straight into a trap, but no one opposed.
Thankfully I'd healed quickly after everything was removed. I snuggled into Kellan; he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, running his fingers in a lazy circle on my upper arm. He was trying to remain calm on the surface, but I knew all too well the turmoil within.
I didn't want them walking into this trap with me, but I didn't know how to ditch them, especially when they could read me and my thoughts so well. I couldn’t do anything right now. Knowing this, I allowed myself to relax until we arrived in London.
Chapter 16
London was a dreary mess of cold, snow and lots of gray.
"This certainly isn't the London of my day," Will said, staring out the taxi window. We had to separate into three cabs since they seated a maximum of three customers at a time.
"When was the last time you were here?"
"Nearly sixty years ago," he replied. The cab driver turned wide-eyed at Will. "Oh bloody hell," he cursed under his breath.
"I'll take care of it after," Kellan offered nonchalantly.
"Take care of me? What will you do to me? I'll not tell anyone what I've heard. I don't know a thing. You say nothing to me. I heard nothing." The driver was bordering a panic attack, his middle-Eastern accent thickening the closer he got to hysteria.
"Take the wheel Will," Kellan ordered, grabbing the driver by his chin and forcing him to face him in the back. The driver's eyes bugged out; I heard his heart nearly leaping from his chest it was beating so hard and fast, yet he was holding his breath. Kellan demanded his focus, locking their eyes. I knew the moment Kellan was in control since the guy instantly calmed. "You have heard nothing out of the ordinary. We are only customers that you will drive to and drop off at their hotel. Once you lose sight of us, you will forget you ever saw us. Now face forward and drive us to our hotel." Kellan released him. He faced forward, a dumbfounded look on his face. He shook his head in confusion. I saw his brows were furrowed through the side mirror as if he was trying to solve a riddle, as if he was trying to grasp what had happened. He wouldn't remember though. That's the beauty of being brain-washed; you never remember that it actually happened.
All three cabs arrived together.
"The May Fair? Really guys? You couldn't choose something a little less... I don't know... flashy?"
"They have good security and only guests can access the rooms," Kai explained. I guess it made sense after what happened in Spain, but it was a steep bill for security.
The bellman promptly offered his assistance as we walked through the revolving door. Kai and Al headed straight to the front desk to check us in under the Bladangs company cards.
“We’re all in Studio Suites,” Al announced, passing out room keys. “Everyone has their own room except Gabi and Rafi and Kellan and Lexi.” Al stopped and looked pointedly at Kellan. “This isn’t the time to be indulging yourself son.”
I instantly blushed and looked away. I knew he was right, but the fact that he thought we were or would do it was too much.
Kellan laughed it off. “Sure thing Dad.” He flashed me a devilish grin. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt
him.” A chill ran down my spine.
“Let’s drop our stuff in our rooms. I’ll be around to install door alarms; this way we’ll know if anyone entered the room,” Kalel said.
“What about housekeeping?”
“These are silent alarms. It’ll send an alert to me, Kai and Gabi’s phone.”
“Oh, ok.”
“Let’s get out of the lobby.” Al headed towards the elevators leading the pack.
“Lexi, may I speak with you privately in my room?” Will asked. He always seemed a bit off, slightly nervous, or it could just be that he pays attention to every detail and the details overwhelm him; regardless, he appeared anxious.
“Of course. Kellan, will you take my luggage?” I focused on Will the entire time, unable to pull myself from him. His anxiety was rubbing off on me. Nerves crawled through me forcing my serum upwards.
“I got it babe,” he said, taking it from my hand.
The elevator ride seemed to take forever, but alas we finally made it. I followed Will to his room; I was glued to his side, my mind reeling with ideas of what could be so disconcerting to him. I knew I was overthinking it; I knew I was making myself sick with worry probably for no reason, but I couldn’t stop myself. I couldn’t control my wondering thoughts.
He opened the door and stood back, allowing me to enter first. I couldn’t even appreciate the beauty of the room, too consumed by what was about to be revealed.
“What’s going on Will?” I cut to the chase. I peeked through the lavish curtains out to the bustling city below. I turned back to find him removing his tie and folding it before lying it on the dresser.
He set down his oversized leather briefcase on the bed. I didn’t know why he didn’t carry it around rather than the pile of books, especially now that he’d lost a few. He removed the binder and a thick, warn leather book. I recognized them instantly; my stomach knotted tightly as my serum rose high in the back of my throat. Something was wrong. Something was coming.
“I know you read the translation I provided you detailing the prophecy, and well, I must apologize but I purposefully omitted quite a bit and generalized the rest.” He didn’t fidget or stutter; he looked straight at me as he spoke the words, no apology in his voice.
“Why?”
“Because you would find a way to change things when there isn’t a way. You would drive yourself mad.”
“And Kellan dying?”
“I’m not revealing anything around that.”
“Why did you want to speak to me Will?” I crossed my arms over my chest defensively. He certainly had me on edge, if not before then definitely now thanks to his revelation of honesty.
“Something big is coming very soon for you.”
“Specifics?”
“You need to prepare yourself emotionally and physically,” he riddled on.
“Will, I don’t want games. I want you to come straight out with it.”
“Barkatu,” he whispered.
“What does that mean?”
“Forget I even spoke with you. Now you must be going. Important things are ahead,” he said. He walked over to me, placed a firm guiding hand on my mid-back and shoved me towards the door.
“But –“
“I’ll see you tomorrow Lexi,” he stated, officially getting me outside the door and promptly shutting it in my face.
I stood staring at the door completely befuddled by my Eislom. He was the one who asked to talk to me, and rather than come out with anything worthwhile, he beat around the bush and admitted to doing so in his translation as well. He was supposed to guide us through this whole experience, but I didn’t feel like he was.
“You going to stare at the door all day?” Kai asked. I turned towards his voice; he stood outside his door a few rooms down, hands tucked inside his dark jean pockets, his muscles bulging through his gray sweater.
“Um, no,” I shook my head, still trying to pick my brain for ideas as to what Will could be hinting at.
“Want to go for a walk?”
“Sure.” I gave the door one last glance. I didn’t know why I did it; I felt like I was leaving behind a task that needed to be completed soon and therefore felt a tug towards it. I had the inkling that Will only broke his code to warn me of something big. Given my past though, big could be anything, and that was the troubling part.
We walked outside back into the busy city streets complete with wind, snow and freezing temperatures. It didn’t affect me too badly. It felt about the equivalent of sixty degrees to me.
“What’s on your mind Leka?” he asked as we navigated through the midday lunch crowd.
“Too much.” He merely nodded his head, facing forward, looking at everyone and everything except me.
We walked in silence for a bit. I didn’t know where we were going and didn’t bother asking.
“What does barkatu mean?” I asked, thinking back over what Will had said.
“I don’t know the language well since it’s for vampeens, but I think it means ‘I’m sorry’ in Euskara.” He finally glanced over at me. “Why?”
“Kai.” I stopped walking, turning towards him; I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. My muscles were stiff, and I… I wanted to eat. Or drink. I wanted to do what half the women in the world did when they were stressed or upset; I wanted to eat.
“Leka?” He frowned as he stared down at me.
“Can we go sit somewhere?” I glanced around, looking for a restaurant or coffee shop to settle into.
“Let’s go to the coffee house across the street.” He grabbed my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine. He scowled, glancing down at my ring the moment he felt it. I tried to ignore his reaction.
We settled at a table in the far corner of the quaint shop. I was surprised by how busy they were at this time of day though I suppose it was no different than any Starbucks back home. While the shop boasted upgraded counters and pastry showcases, everything else seemed a bit aged but in a meant-to-be sort of way.
“Hello. My name’s Eva. What can I get for you?” The brunette pixie was energetic despite her layers of black and gray.
“Two blueberry scones and a cup of hot water for each of us,” Kai ordered.
“Care to turn that hot water into a cuppa?”
“What’s a cuppa?” I asked.
“Tea,” Kai replied for her. He glanced at me, one brow raised as if to ask if I wanted to. I gave a slight nod. “Sure,” he replied. The moment the server turned her back he tossed me a few condiment packets from his pocket. I instantly recognized it as blood.
I gave it a quick once over before tucking it into the pocket of my hoodie. “These are really cool. Where do you get them?”
“We manufacture them ourselves in one of our off-site factories. They’re popular in certain parts of Europe.”
“Wait, so you sell them in Europe?”
“Yea. We have a secure website that clients can access to order from us once they’re verified as being vamp.”
“How do you verify them?”
“We run their names through the vamp registry. They have to provide us their correct date of birth and some sort of proof of identification like an EIN or social.”
“Wow. So, uh, how long have you been making these things?”
“As long as we’ve known that we could eat if we soaked our food. They’re convenient and pass through customs for vamps that travel.”
“Is it a lucrative business?”
He chuckled. “Leka, I don’t hurt for money, but if you must know, it’s a very lucrative business.”
“I wasn’t referring to your money. I could care less about that.”
He pursed his lips, studying me for a few solid seconds. “What’s bothering you?”
“Do you know the story, the prediction; whatever you want to call it?”
“What about it?” He sat back in his chair, erasing all emotion from his expression.
“What happens?”
“I don’t know
,” he shrugged.
“But you just said you did,” I protested, not about to let him shut me out too.
“Listen Leka, some things aren’t meant to be known. The fairytales that vamps have told over the last couple hundred years is different than the truth. I don’t know how much different, but I know that nearly all fables start with a foundation of truth and build from there. You and him are the foundation, everything else is a crock of shit that everyone has added a little something to over the years.”
“I’m confused. How is everyone’s story the same, yet it’s untrue?”
“The generalization of the story is true, but the details are all wrong.”
“So we are supposed to bring peace to our kind, but nobody really knows how we do it?”
“Basically. Now can we change the subject?” He looked pissed off. His careful façade of nothing was fading into the background as his emotions came forth with a vengeance. I knew it was because it forced him to think of me and Kellan together, but that didn’t make me any less miffed.
“Well, you asked.”
“Yea. Next time I won’t,” he scowled. I sighed, pulling my phone out of my pocket, offering me an escape from his harsh scrutiny.
I decided to text Mel and check in on her, hoping she was past the angry phase of being left behind.
‘Still mad at me?’
She promptly replied. ‘Even more since you haven’t bothered to even let me know you’re still alive. I’ve had to get my updates from a boyfriend that I’m equally pissed at…’
‘Sorry? It’s been crazy. I know that’s not an excuse, but I promise to do better. I miss you. J’
‘I miss you too. Be safe.’
We always came back together somehow, some way. It’d felt strange not talking to Mel in some capacity over the last few days. It reminded me of the week of my transformation. Luckily, like that week, I was distracted from her absence with action and education.
“Sorry for the wait. We’re swamped,” Eva stated, setting down two steaming mugs still steeping the tea bags and a scone for each of us centered on a doily set upon fancy china.
3 Hit the Road Jack Page 11