"But none of us knew that, and a lot of vampires would do anything to ensure that they are never human again—that they never have to feel the weight of humanity run through their veins ever again."
"So they're after Kira now… well, again?" Luke asked—no ounce of surprise tainted his words. This was business as usual.
"Some, yeah, but not me—and not a group of vampires I've been talking to for the past few days."
"What do they want?" Luke asked roughly, the Protector in him coming out full force.
"Down boy," Pavia muttered, raising her eyebrows in Kira's direction. "They heard Aldrich's story, but it had the opposite effect. It excited them, energized them, gave them a new hope for something more. What they want, Luke, is their humanity back—what they want is to be human again."
"What are they willing to do for it?" Kira asked. She clenched her fists. Her powers were in there, but Kira didn't know if they were up to the task, if Tristan had maybe been a one-time thing.
"I'm sure we can negotiate something. Right now, all they want is to meet with you and to see that guy in the flesh." Pavia pointed at Tristan, who was still doing his best to tune out the conversation.
"Absolutely not," Kira said, her voice harsh and commanding. "I'm not taking Tristan there."
"I'll do it," he said softly from the front seat.
"No." Kira shook her head. "I want you to stay out of it."
"I need to help," Tristan said, louder this time. "I must do something."
"You will." Kira put her hand on his shoulder, squeezing softly. "I promise you will, but I can't let you do this."
"Kira," Luke interjected.
"No." She shook her head. "No, Pavia will just have to show them her memory of Tristan and that will have to be enough."
Pavia opened her mouth to speak, but then thought better of it. Kira was not in a negotiating mood, not when it came to Tristan. The last thing he needed was to be around vampires, to get more and more confused about what his life had been for the past hundred years. She wanted him to be safe, to settle into a normal human life—or as normal as it could be. Kira refused to save him just to put him in danger again. That was never going to happen, not on her watch.
"Luke and I will go, and that will have to be enough."
Pavia raised her hands in the air, as if to say she was giving up, and nodded. "They should all be on their way to Charleston—you are so predictable, Kira. I'll set something up once we get there."
"Good," Kira said, trying to warm her voice up a bit. She owed Pavia a lot, but man did that girl know how to get on someone's nerves.
"Conduits and vampires meeting in peace? To strategize together? This has got to be a first." Luke shook his head, his voice light with disbelief.
"That's not the only thing vamps and conduits can do together," Pavia said, her voice highly suggestive.
"Pavia," Kira said sternly. The uncaring vampire she didn't like very much was returning now that business talk was done.
"I was talking about car games. Get your mind out of the gutter, Kira," she said with a wink. "Although, I can see why thinking about Luke might send you there."
Kira looked away, willing the blush to stop before it reached her cheeks. Luke, always her savior, spoke up from the front seat.
"What car games did you have in mind? I'm pretty much the champion of the alphabet game."
"Oh please, there's no skill required in that game. How about twenty questions?"
"I'm down. Kira?" Luke asked. She nodded.
"Okay, me first," Luke said, taking control. "I've got it."
"Is it a place?" Pavia asked.
"Nope."
"A person?"
"Yup."
"Is this person alive?"
"Nope."
"Dead?"
"Nope."
"Something can't be neither alive nor dead, you are totally cheating," Pavia said.
"Look who's talking," Luke retorted.
"We are alive, thank you very much…but, are you thinking of a vampire?"
"Nope. And you're down to fifteen."
Kira smiled and looked out the window. She knew Luke too well and already knew what he was thinking about.
"Man?"
"Nope and fourteen."
"Okay, woman?"
"Yeah."
Kira smirked—she was totally right.
"Fictional character?" Kira asked and Luke met her eyes through the rearview mirror.
"Yeah," he said with a grin and Kira grinned back. Yup, Pavia would never get it.
"Does that count as one of my questions?"
"Nope, but that does. Twelve."
Pavia blew a bang from her forehead. Luke began to drum his fingers on the steering wheel—his victory was looking more and more imminent. Kira reached through the seats and turned on the radio. Car games weren't really her thing.
Instead, she settled in her seat and looked at Tristan, who was totally silent. His eyes were focused through the window, flicking back and forth with the trees flying by the car. But they looked lost.
For what felt like the first time she could remember, Kira didn't understand what was going through that pretty head of his. The wrinkles framing his frowning eyes were familiar, the purse to his lips was something she had seen before, and his straight determined nose was nothing new—but it was like a painting that had been replicated. Almost the same as the original but not quite. There was nothing specific Kira could pinpoint, but something intangible had changed.
She assumed he was thinking about his life as a vampire, what may have happened, but she didn't know the way she used to. Though Tristan had only been human for a few days, he had already started drifting away from her. And Kira wasn't sure if his memories would bring him back—if anything could bring him back.
His eyes moved in the side mirror, looking for hers. Kira hesitated, holding his gaze for a minute, before looking away. A self-conscious bubble expanded in her chest, blocking her breath.
Maybe it was selfish, but she wanted to look into those eyes and see her Tristan again, just for a minute, to feel connected to him again. And Kira knew exactly how to do it. She just needed Pavia to play along once they got to Charleston.
When they got home, it would all work itself out.
"Only one question left!" Luke taunted, making his words come out as a song that caught Kira's attention.
Pavia looked annoyed and determined. She bit her bottom lip while she thought.
"Are you thinking about Catwoman?" she asked slowly.
"Nope! I win!" Luke started chanting from the front seat. His joy was contagious and Kira let it bubble up in her chest, flowing through their bond secretly. He really was like a drug, a little happy pill she could take whenever she wanted it.
"He's thinking of Wonder Woman," Kira told Pavia, fighting the grin that was widening her lips.
"Bingo! And that's why we're best friends," Luke said, and reached back to squeeze her knee.
Best friends or something else? Kira thought as the warmth from his hand traveled up her leg.
Charleston. Kira let the word keep her afloat. Maybe it was a pipe dream, but she had to believe an answer was coming soon.
Charleston.
Chapter Six
"Can you take a right up here?" Kira asked. They had been in the car for hours, taking shifts driving through the night, but finally they were almost home.
"Here?" Luke asked, confusion clouding his words.
"Just trust me."
He made the turn and continued driving until they reached the end of the road, which broke off right next to the Ashley River, a few miles away from Charleston City. He stopped the car and turned to her with an eyebrow raised.
"What are we doing here?"
"Tristan, Pavia—will you guys wait for me outside?" Kira asked, unbuckling her seatbelt to shift her attention to Luke. They were eye level, well almost, and both sitting in the front seats.
"You're not going to like th
is, but I have something to do before we go home and figure out the whole vampire meeting thing." His expression darkened, and a knowing look glazed over his eyes.
"You mean the whole keeping you alive and defeating Aldrich and changing the course of conduit history in the process thing?"
"When you put it like that, I see why this might annoy you, but it's just something I have to do."
Luke lifted his hand, rubbing the spot between his eyes. "Kira, I'm being patient and I'm giving you time, but I'm not just going to sit around while you try everything you can think of to bring your ex-boyfriend back—I'm just not."
Kira reached out, dropping her hand on his leg, trying to make him understand. "I'm not going to lie, I'm confused—about Tristan, about you, about myself—pretty much about everything. But I have to see if there is a way to bring his memories back, and it's not for me or about me. Can't you see how confused he is?"
"I do, I mean, I had to help the guy put on a pair of jeans." Luke laughed quietly. "The old Tristan would have probably slugged me for that. But, I'm being selfish this time, because I've been understanding for a long time. I thought that kiss meant you chose me, meant you wanted to be with me—"
"It did," Kira said, and at the time, it really did, but she had to resolve things with Tristan…a small part of her was still holding on, still refusing to let go, especially when he was so in need of a friend.
"Well, you have an interesting way of showing it."
He pulled the car into reverse and reached across the seats to open her door. But then she thought better of it. He paused, looking at her, vulnerable.
"Does he, I mean, can you…?" Luke trailed off, but Kira knew exactly what he was asking.
"No," she said quietly, "no, I don’t feel his thoughts. I'm not sure why, but we’re not connected that way."
The ghost of a smile crossed Luke's face, and then faded as questions flowed back into his mind. He quelled them.
"I'll grab some food. Let's meet back here in an hour," Luke said, his voice heavy. Kira stole one more look, keeping her mind locked tight so she didn’t have to feel the pain coiling on his face, before stepping out of the car.
Without looking back, Luke made a U-turn and drove away. Kira kept watching the car until it disappeared down the end of the road—a big part of her heart went with it. He was right. Why was she holding onto the past when her future was right there, had been there all along keeping her happy and grounded and sane? What was she waiting for?
"Kira?" Tristan asked. "What are we doing?"
Kira spun on her heel. "Right. Sorry." She shook her head, clearing the fog Luke had created. "I'm taking you home—well, sort of."
"And what am I doing here?" Pavia asked. She had stepped closer to Tristan while Kira had been watching Luke, close enough to touch him.
"I need to borrow your expertise," Kira said, "but for now, follow me."
Only a few months before, a few months that seemed like a millennia, Kira had wondered the same thing—where was Tristan taking her? What was the secret place he was trying to show her? But now it was her turn to lead them off the road, through the low shrubs that lined the ground until they reached a marshy riverbank.
Kira kept walking, letting the two of them trail behind. Her memory was pulling her forward, was urging her up the river and against the current, until in the distance Kira spotted it—a low hanging tree branch that extended past the marshes, all the way until its branches licked the river.
Behind her, Tristan gasped.
Kira stopped moving.
Tristan sped past her, running toward the first place that seemed familiar to him since his reawakening.
Kira hardly noticed, a different more confident Tristan sprouted in her eyes—one that led her by the hand and kept looking back to see if she was all right, one that helped her hop onto the tree branch, one that looked at her with an almost hungry passion in his deep blue eyes.
This was their spot to Kira, the place where he first told her all about his life as a vampire, the place where he first opened up, the place where their relationship really began.
But not anymore.
The new Tristan hadn't even looked back to see if Kira was still alive. He was speeding around the opening, running his fingers along the tree bark, marking this spot as his alone.
"Well, he's perked up, hasn't he?"
"Yeah," Kira said sadly. She didn’t know why, but part of her had thought that bringing Tristan back here would make him remember. They had been here countless times together, from lazy Saturday afternoons in the spring to the midnight picnic he had prepared for their six-month anniversary.
Part of her had obviously been wrong.
"So what's the deal?" Pavia asked, nudging Kira with her shoulder.
"I want you to look into his mind, to see if there is a way you can make him remember." Kira didn’t look at Pavia. Her eyes were still on Tristan as he climbed onto the overhanging limb and scooted out beyond the marsh to dip his feet in the water. He looked younger, like a little boy somehow.
Pavia eyed Kira, making a chill run down her spine.
"Is this for him or for you?" the vampire asked.
"I don't know," Kira said honestly, feeling better for finally letting the truth out.
"Fair enough." Pavia shrugged, pushing her sensitive side back undercover. "It'll be easier if I bite him."
Kira hesitated before nodding her approval. She would do anything for an answer.
The two of them kept walking together, letting a silence settle over the clearing. Tristan had finally noticed them, had finally remembered he wasn't alone.
"How did you find this place?" he asked Kira, wonder etched into his words. "I used to play here as a boy. It was my secret oasis."
"You brought me here," Kira said softly, trying to hide the pain in her voice. He was gone.
"Really?" he asked, "I never even allowed my mother to follow me here."
"I know."
He settled his gaze on her, but Kira looked out at the river. She could feel his eyes as they traveled down and back up her body—she was a puzzle he was trying to figure out, a mystery he couldn't solve.
After a minute, he stood up on the branch and walked toward the trunk, jumping back down to solid ground. He took a step toward Kira, his eyes questioning, careful.
Pavia, who had been leaning against the bark, looked at Kira.
Kira nodded.
Pavia stepped forward and grabbed Tristan's hand, swinging him back toward her. In a flash, Pavia's teeth were diving for his neck, slamming into his veins before Tristan even had the chance to struggle. His body stopped moving when Pavia began to drink. His eyes glazed over and a silly smile spread across his lips.
Kira kept her eyes averted, hardly believing she was standing there doing nothing. Her fire itched her palms, scalding her muscles for their inactivity. A sucking, slurping noise sounded in her ears and Kira covered them, letting her flames seep into her skull, trying to drown out the sound with the crackle of her fire.
Tristan was being eaten, and she wasn't doing anything.
Her knees gave out, and Kira fell to the ground, still clutching her head.
A rock hit her shoulder and Kira spun, flinging her hands out.
Pavia jumped back with a yelp. "Watch it!"
"Sorry," Kira said, winking out her fire.
Tristan was a ball in the dirt. His eyes were closed as if in slumber, and Kira knelt beside him, cradling his head in her lap. She healed the two puncture wounds in his neck, sealing them closed.
"What'd you do?" she asked, her voice sad rather than accusatory.
"He won't remember being bitten. He'll think he fell from the tree."
"But what did you see?" Kira asked, looking at Pavia. Tristan stirred underneath her, shifting the head resting on her thighs.
Kira ran a hand down his cheek while his eyes flicked open, struggling to refocus.
"Are you okay?" Kira asked.
He nodd
ed and sat up, clutching his head.
"Did I fall?"
"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone," Pavia said with a grin. He looked to Kira to confirm.
"Yeah, but don't worry about it," Kira said and stood up, brushing the dirt off of her legs. "Happens to the best of us." She offered her hand, yanking him to his feet.
He rose, his body a few inches from her own. Kira looked up, holding her breath at his proximity. Tristan lifted his hand, reaching in her hair. He shifted, running his fingers through her curls. Kira held back a sigh, but couldn’t step away.
He pulled a leaf out of her hair and let it fall to the ground.
"Whoops," Kira said, finally moving away from the warmth of his body to feel for more leaves, but Tristan had found the only one.
He grabbed her hand to keep her from moving any farther away.
"I feel as though I know you, as though this has happened before," he whispered, "like maybe I have lived it once before in a dream."
Or a nightmare, Kira thought and snapped her hand out of his, moving a few feet away. He was haunting her, like a phantom of what had been. But Kira needed to wake up. This wasn't Tristan, not yet, and she needed to keep her distance. "What else do you want to see before we head back?"
"Is my house…?" He trailed off when Kira shook her head. No, his house was long gone. Tristan nodded. "Then I will just check one more spot, alone, if you do not mind." Kira nodded and he walked away from them, vanishing around the curves of a few large oaks.
"What'd you see?" Kira asked without turning around.
"His memories are all there," Pavia said slowly, walking into Kira's line of vision.
"So why doesn’t he remember?"
"His humanity is like a wall, blocking them," Pavia said, stepping forward until she was close enough that Kira couldn't ignore her. "Do you remember what I said? Those other vampires are after you because this is exactly what they're afraid of. The human Tristan can't bear to remember what the vampire Tristan did, it would break him."
"So you can't bring them back? Not even one?"
"Not even one little memory of you?" Pavia asked, looking down at Kira with a knowing smile. "I could show him one of your memories, but his are an all or nothing deal right now. Bring one back and all of the others will follow. And I don't know what he told you, but there are some pretty dark things hidden in that very cute head of his."
The Complete Midnight Fire Series Page 65