by Last, K. A.
“It’s good to see you, Grace.”
My mouth felt dry, I didn’t know what to say or where to start. I wanted to pour my heart out to him, tell him everything and cry until I couldn’t cry anymore, but he knew it all already.
“How did you get here?” I asked.
“I had a little help from a friend.”
“I’ve messed up, Pa.”
His familiar chuckle sounded like music to my ears and made me smile. Creases formed around his hazel eyes as he smiled.
“You have done what you thought was right. You are strong, Grace, you do not need a title to be good, and good deeds do not come with bad intentions.”
Here I was, the angel from Heaven, and I needed my Pa to point out the obvious. “And bad intentions do not follow good deeds,” I finished. “I know, Pa, you taught us well.
“It’s you who taught Archer and me well. Fallen or not, I know you will do, and have done, what you feel is right.”
“Then why do I feel as if I haven’t?”
“You cannot control the actions of others, as much as you may want to, not everything is within your grasp. You do what you can and let others do the rest. And you should never be afraid to ask for help.”
The trees above rustled faintly again, and another breeze swirled around me. My heart filled with happiness an it warmed my soul.
Pa smiled. “There’s someone else who wants to see you,” he said.
The breeze left and everything became still. A white butterfly flittered past and circled around Pa. It landed at his feet and spread its wings wide. From the centre it grew and Emma appeared, clothed in a simple white dress. Angels called what she was wearing a transition outfit. She walked towards me and I couldn’t get to my feet quick enough. I threw my arms around her and I never wanted to let go. Pa was here in spirit only, but Emma hadn’t completely crossed over. I knew she didn’t have much time, or she’d be caught in limbo forever.
Emma’s expression was stern as she held me at arm’s length. “You know you need to snap out of it and pull yourself together, Grace.”
Well, dying hadn’t changed her one little bit.
“I miss you, too.”
“Now you know I’m ok you can do what you have to do. Go and get Charlotte, and save the world at the same time,” she said. “Just be careful, not everything is as it seems.”
“What do you mean?”
Emma shook her head and pursed her lips. “You have to work it out for yourself.”
“So you’re not mad at me?”
“For what, not telling me about your super hero status? That you can leap buildings in a single bound?” We both laughed. “So where is your invisible plane?”
“Not mad at me then.”
“No, Grace, you do what you gotta do. Maybe I’ll be able to help more, someday.”
Emma’s hands felt warm inside mine, and my heart was both happy and sad all at once. Happy because I knew she would be ok, sad because I didn’t know if I’d see her again.
“I can’t believe Seth did this to you,” I said.
“He didn’t, and he’s not as bad as you think.”
“You didn’t just say that.”
“It’s true, and I think maybe you need to give him another chance.”
“He stood and watched you die. That does not deserve another chance!”
“No,” Emma said. “He tried to save me.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. There was a time when I liked Seth, loved him even, but I still wasn’t convinced. If anything, I thought the argument leant heavily in the other direction.
“We have to go, Emma,” Pa said. “Follow your heart, Grace, and your path will be true.”
“No, wait! You can’t go yet. I can’t get to Heaven to see you anymore. When … what about Ryan?”
But they were already fading away.
“Follow your heart…” Emma’s voice was no more than a whisper.
Follow my heart, that’s just great, didn’t my heart get me in this mess in the first place? I needed to vent, to let off some steam. Where was a vampire to stake when I needed one?
On my way back to the shed I tried to think of the best way to tell Ryan everything, including the nice chit chat with his dead girlfriend. You see, Ryan, I’d say, I’m an angel. I’d probably leave out the fallen part at first. And my brother, well he kills vampires but has the hots for one. I could see his reaction, he’d think I was insane, but maybe I wasn’t giving him enough credit. Josh handled it pretty well, although I hadn’t just died.
Misting home would’ve been much quicker, but I wanted a little more time to myself. As it was, the end of the path arrived too quickly. I walked across the clearing and the boys were nowhere in sight. The day had disappeared and the stars were twinkling above. Crickets chirped in the grass, and a few bats took to the sky. Well, I thought, better get this over with. The sooner Ryan knew the better. Protection from the sun wouldn’t be back until morning. Night had descended, and with darkness came trouble.
TWENTY-FIVE
JOSH
Friday Night
When Grace walked away it was hard. I wanted to be there for her, to help. Archer wouldn’t let me follow, he said she’d be back and I hoped he was right.
Ryan wandered to the edge of the clearing, arms folded, staring into the trees. I took the opportunity to talk to Archer about what we should tell him, or how we should even start to tell him the truth.
“Well, how did Grace tell you?” he asked.
“She didn’t really tell me, she showed me, but I don’t know if that would freak Ryan out too much.” We stood in silence. Archer stared at the ground, I stared at him.
“I may have an idea,” he said, heading towards the cottage. “Come on.”
“Hey, Ryan,” I called. “Wanna join us?”
Ryan looked tired, his eyes ringed with dark circles. He offered a simple nod, then wrapped his arms around himself as if he were cold, and followed. I hadn’t been inside the cottage; Grace said they moved out of it in the sixties before Archer’s time. From the outside it appeared run down, almost derelict.
We climbed the concrete steps after Archer. He held the crooked door open and we entered into a small foyer. Everything in the house looked clean and new. Polished floors, white walls, the only thing that was remotely old was the furniture, and even that was in perfect condition.
Straight ahead was the kitchen with a breakfast counter. A large window framed the view of the trees outside. On our right were two closed doors. Ryan glanced around, seeming to show a bit more interest, and he looked a little brighter.
Archer led us to the left through a small open plan dining room then into a living area.
“This is it,” he said, with a grin on his face.
“Um, it’s a couch,” I said, “and a coffee table with a floor rug.” I turned a full circle to take in the room, what there was of it. The front window framed the shed. I watched a light breeze toss some leaves across the clearing. Ryan walked to the far wall and stared at it.
“Look closely at the wall and tell me what you see,” Archer said.
“A wall.”
“Come on, Josh, look harder.”
“It’s a false wall,” Ryan said, so softly I almost didn’t hear him. At first his words didn’t register and I stood there looking like an idiot. When they finally sunk in I definitely felt like an idiot.
“A false wall,” I said.
“Bingo,” Archer said. He pushed gently on a section of the wall and a small panel flipped open, revealing a keypad. His fingers were quick across the keys and a whooshing sound revealed a door way.
“Welcome to the Tate family arsenal,” Archer said with a grin.
“Arsenal, as in weapons?” Ryan asked.
“Go in and see for yourselves.” Archer stepped aside and let us through.
It was nothing short of amazing. A lot of the things in the room I couldn’t even name. There were weapons that looked older
than my great grandfather, and then some. Ryan walked slowly down the length of the wall, taking it all in. Knives, swords, axes, a couple of cross bows, and all sorts of other stuff. I’d never seen so many weapons in one place.
Ryan stopped to examine what looked like a tool belt. He reached out and touched the wooden sticks encased in loops of leather. They looked lethal, honed to a sharp point with handles wrapped in twine.
“What are these?” he asked, turning to Archer.
“Those are wooden stakes made from Alpine Ash. We get them from down south.” Archer smiled again and Ryan looked confused. I knew what the stakes were and what their use was, but Ryan couldn’t be expected to know. “They’re the best weapon for killing them, most effective anyway,” Archer went on.
Archer and I exchanged a glance, and I supposed it was now or never. “Vampires,” I said.
A few moments passed before Ryan replied. “You’re kidding, right? Vampires? Like Buffy style?”
I raised my eyebrows and shrugged.
Archer laughed and slapped him on the shoulder before grabbing the stake belt down from the hook. He slid one stake from its loop and handed it to Ryan.
“Exactly like Buffy style.”
“Cool.” Ryan turned the stake over a few times, feeling the sharp tip with his finger.
The front door opened and footsteps clicked on the timber floor.
“Arch, Josh? Are you in here?” Grace’s voice travelled through the cottage. I ran out to the dining room and swept her into my arms. Before she could say anything, I kissed her deeply. I was so glad she was back, and hoped she’d dealt with whatever it was she went searching for.
“You scared me,” I said. “I was worried.”
“I would never leave you,” she whispered, standing on her toes to kiss me again.
Archer cleared his throat, bringing me back to reality. He and Ryan stood in the middle of the living room, Ryan holding the stake in his hand.
“What does he know?” Grace asked, moving to stand beside Archer.
“Just that we kill vampires,” he said.
“And…?”
“We were getting to that part,” I said, sitting on the edge of the lounge.
“And what?” Ryan looked around at all of us. “Come on guys, what are you talking about?”
“Charlotte,” I said.
“What does Charlotte have to do with…?”
“You haven’t noticed anything weird about her?”
“Weird? Not really. She’s a bit odd, as in quiet, and she doesn’t eat much. She’s also a little pale for the country sun, but Grace is pale, too.”
“Charlotte is a vampire,” Archer said. I raised my eyebrows. “What, Josh, don’t look at me like that.”
“You could have told him differently,” I said.
“Differently? How else do you say it?”
“Why haven’t you staked her then?” Ryan asked. “If she’s a vampire, she’s evil. And why the hell are we all so chummy with her?”
“Hey, easy.” Grace laid her hand on Ryan’s arm. “It’s a little complicated, and you’re taking the existence of vampires a lot better than I thought you would.”
“The world is full of weird crap, right?” Ryan said.
“Like you would not believe.”
“We haven’t staked her because she’s different. In case you haven’t noticed,” I said, “she walks around in the sun like a normal person.”
“She’s good,” Archer said.
“Really good,” Grace added. “She kills vamps, too.”
“Hang on.” Ryan’s eyes darted between us. “You’re telling me; one, that vampires are real. And two, there are good vampires? Well, that’s a little hard to believe.”
We spent some time explaining the entire story, starting with Grace and Archer. It took a while to get through the details, and why Charlotte was in danger. I watched in mild amusement as Ryan’s expression changed a number of times. By the end he was sitting on the couch beside me massaging his temples.
“Ok, let me get this straight,” Ryan said. “Charlotte is a special vampire who has super blood that all the other vampires want, and Grace is an angel?”
“Protection Angel,” she corrected him. “Hence the reason why we’re in this mess.”
“And where does Emma fit in?”
“That was a power play,” Grace said. “I killed one of Matthew’s boys, so he killed the closest person to me that was easily accessible. Only difference is, he doesn’t play fair.”
“She was killed by a vampire?” Ryan looked like he needed something to punch. “So why aren’t we out there staking the crap out of those…”
“Believe me,” Grace cut him off, “the one thing I want is dust on my boots, but we have to be careful. I don’t want us getting killed. Besides, she’s fine. I just spoke to her.”
“What!” Ryan and I said at the same time.
Archer smiled smugly. Oh right, twin connection. Grace hadn’t connected with me since that first time in the clearing; sometimes I wished she would fill me in a bit more.
“I was sitting in the cemetery…”
“What cemetery?” I asked. Grace ignored me.
“…and I was talking to Pa,” she put a finger on my lips to stop me talking, “when a white butterfly appeared. Emma came to tell me she was alright, and to follow my heart.”
“Since when has anyone needed to tell you that,” Archer scoffed.
She swatted him on the arm. “The point is, Emma is ok and we don’t need to worry about her.”
“So, what now?” I asked.
“Now,” Grace said, “we go and get Charlotte and try to fix this mess.”
That sounded like a plan, and it sure did beat sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves on a Friday night.
TWENTY-SIX
GRACE
Saturday Morning
The first rays of sun peeked through my loft window; I stretched and turned towards Josh. We’d both flaked fully clothed the night before, and he was snoring softly. I took a moment to gaze at him. His dark hair was tousled and his fringe flopped over his eyes. I wished we could stay like that, frozen in time, not worrying about anything. It would be better to have him frozen awake though, and I chuckled to myself.
Instead of waking him I lay there and thought about the previous night. Charlotte was proving to be a tough nut to crack; we’d spent half the night trying to track her down before giving up. Every time I managed to pinpoint where she was, she’d be off again. She knew how to play me, thinking one thing but doing another. Or I’d finally get within listening distance, and she’d run before I had a chance to stop her. All I wanted was to talk to her; she was making it mighty hard.
“Just as stubborn as you,” Archer had said.
I saw the anguish in his eyes each time she slipped through our fingers. I knew she was trying to protect us, but didn’t she get it? I’d fallen for her, and vowed to protect her for eternity. I wasn’t going to go away that easily.
We hadn’t seen Angelica or Annie either, but they were out there somewhere, watching from their high horse waiting for the right moment to act. Angels sent to kill the innocent; I never thought I’d see the day. Technically Charlotte wasn’t innocent because she’s a vampire, but rules are made to be broken. She’s innocent in my eyes.
I sat up and threw my legs over the side of the bed. I hoped to find Charlotte today, and to get through another day and night unscathed. Then I remembered. I’d completely forgotten about our birthday party. It wasn’t going to be the same without Emma. Maybe Archer was right about it being a bad idea, but perhaps we could use it to our advantage. I was pretty sure Seth knew we were having some people over—actually I was sure the whole school knew, what with SMS—which meant he wouldn’t be able to resist showing up.
“Hey, Grace, what’s the matter?” Josh asked in a sleepy voice. I’d been deep in thought, staring at the wall, fiddling with my ring.
“Oh, just the usual,”
I said, smiling. “You know, dead best friend, elusive vampire, angels on the warpath.” I shrugged. We looked at each other for a few moments then burst out laughing. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes, and it felt good.
Josh stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. “We’ll find her,” he said, leaning in to kiss me.
On second thought, that moment in Josh’s arms kissing him, is where I would want to be frozen.
“You know, people are going to come here tonight.”
“The party.” He looked a little worried. “I’d forgotten about that. We could tell them not to come, that you’re not feeling up to visitors.”
“No, I actually think it will work in our favour.”
“How so?”
“Charlotte’s conscience will get the better of her. She won’t be able to stay away knowing innocent people might be in danger.”
“Who said anything about putting our friends in danger?” Josh asked.
I shrugged. “The whole school probably knows about the party. Seth will show up with his vamp friends…”
“And this is a good thing?”
“Charlotte is too much like me. After spending your entire existence fighting something, it’s not that easy to walk away.”
“You’re going to use everyone as bait.”
“And, if I know Angelica,” I went on, ignoring his last remark, “she will wait for the bad boys to turn up, too. Why waste time looking for something when you know where it will be in twelve hours?”
“Holy crap, Grace, you’re using everyone as bait!”
“No … I’m betting Charlotte thinks she’ll need to come. Everyone else will be perfectly safe, I hope.”
Josh looked at me with apprehension, and I could hear him yelling no in his head. He didn’t like the thought of putting our friends in danger, but I had no other ideas. Chasing Charlotte had proven futile. We needed her to come to us.