My eyes flutter closed when he tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. I take a moment to mourn the fact that we can’t just stay like this. I resent the fact that after centuries of being alone, when I finally find someone to love, my life is too hectic to enjoy it. Sam’s arms tighten around me, and I know he hears my thoughts. My Hunters intuitively know that I need this quiet moment with Sam and say nothing. With a deep breath, I break away from the embrace and give everyone a grim smile. It’s time to get this show on the road.
“Alright. First on the agenda is finding where this secret hideaway is,” I announce with a bit of trepidation.
Amanda steps to me, placing a hand on my forearm. “Are you going to be okay going back there?”
I haven’t been back to my village since the murder of my parents. Will I be okay going back? I don’t know. I don’t think I have any other choice. Is it irony that the ‘Priestess’ has chosen there for her residence? Or was that by design considering who her ancestor is?
“Baby?”
“Yes. I’ll be fine. I have to be,” I answer firmly. “We can’t afford for me to be emotional. Any more than I already am,” I finish with a mutter.
“And what do we do with Tania?” Jenna asks. I’m slightly concerned by the lack of her sarcasm. What happened with the ‘Buffy’?
“Come. Let’s get something to eat and discuss. You guys are going to need all your strength, and I haven’t been taking the best care of you.”
“That’s not true. You always make sure we eat,” Eric interjects.
“No,” I disagree gently. “You always make sure I eat. I am your leader, and yet it seems you’re taking better care of me than I am of you.”
“We’re a family, Ana.” Amanda squeezes my arm where her hand still lays. “We take care of each other. We knew it would be difficult for you to be here. So, if we have to take up a little bit of your slack, that’s fine,” she says with a teasing smile.
I do what any mature Leader of the Society of Hunters would do. I stick my tongue out at her.
We’re gather around our favorite meeting place. The dining room table, which just happens to be full of Chinese takeout. What? Were you expecting fish and chips? I grab the spare ribs away from Jenna before she can eat them all.
“Hey! It’s not like you need to eat!” she pouts.
“So?” I shrug, my mouth full of spare ribs. “Doesn’t mean I don’t like ‘em.”
The others chuckle at us, and Jenna flips me off. I roll my eyes playfully and shove the ribs over to her.
“Thanks!” she beams.
“Did anyone happen to take food to our ‘guest’?” I ask nonchalantly. If it were up to me, I would let her starve. Good thing it’s not up to me since Sara nodded.
“I took her some soup and a sandwich,” she confirms. Well at least the tramp isn’t getting any of this good Chinese food.
“Fine. Thank you. I suppose we need to discuss what to do with her.” I sip from my ‘Hunter’ laced bottle of blood, passing it to Sam. If any of my group finds our sharing such a delicacy disturbing, they don’t show it. And for that, I’m incredibly grateful.
“Can’t we just drop her off in the woods she found us in?” Jenna asks, slurping lo mein noodles from her chopsticks.
I’m about to answer the rudeness that is Jenna when a fortune cookie sails through the air and catches her on the forehead. Let me just say, it takes a great amount of effort not to spew the contents in my mouth out of my nose at that moment (good thing since that would have been kinda gross). Howls of laughter fill the air, and despite everything that is going on, it feels good. No. It feels amazing to hear these kids laughing and having fun in defiance of everything they’ve been through and the things they’ve had to do. So, I will grant them this time, and let them be the young kids they deserve to be.
“If you children are through playing around,” I bellow in mock annoyance, “we have a problem to solve!” I catch the flying fortune cookie that was on its way to my face, breaking it open with a flourish. “You display the wonderful traits of charm and courtesy,” I read aloud. “Huh. This one certainly doesn’t belong to you, Jenna.”
“Har har har.” And… she snorts. God, I really do think these people are growing on me. I feel - and let - the genuine smile adorn my face before sobering again.
“Seriously, I’m asking all of you for your opinions on what to do with Tania. I don’t trust myself to make a rational decision.”
“What options do we really have?” Emily asks. I can practically see the genuine concern in her eyes. She can’t seriously think we would hurt her, right?
“Could you erase her memory?” Jeremy inquires, picking food out of a container in front of Jenna. I find it quite telling that Jenna makes no attempt to move it out of his way. As a matter of fact, she scoots it closer to him. Aww.
“Hunters are harder to maintain a hold over,” I tell them, remembering the time I tried compelling Sam. It didn’t last very long, and when he came out of it, he was not a happy camper. Of course he was wary of me. My how times have changed.
“But Zac was totally taken over,” Jenna points out, not unkindly.
“I have to believe Zac was a little off balance,” I say gently, hoping to not offend them. “Perhaps it was his unrequited feelings. He was angry, and that diminished his defenses.”
“You don’t think Tania is ‘off balance’?” Sara challenges. “With the drugs and her hatred towards her brother? And you?”
“You have a point,” I capitulate. “I know she fought Sam’s compulsion, but if I change perhaps I could break through any defenses.”
“Aren’t you afraid you’ll fry her brain?”
I turn my attention to Amanda, and see the concern. Strangely enough, I think her concern is for my humanity more than for Tania.
“If she is sedated, gagged and Sam’s not in the room, I may be able to hold on to my anger.” I grin and wink at her.
“Is she sedated?” I pace nervously up and down the hallway in front of Tania’s door. I’m really hoping I don’t kill the tramp. I’m not sure I would be devastated if it did happen, but it wouldn’t look good to my Hunters. Jenna nods at me, her eyes keeping track of me as I keep moving restlessly. “Good. Gagged?”
“Yes, she’s bound and gagged all 50 shades like,” Jenna says, a hint of a smirk creasing the corners of her mouth.
That stops me in my tracks. “That’s gross.”
“But funny,” she adds dryly.
“Whatever,” I mutter, squaring my shoulders. “Okay. I’m going in.”
“Whatever you do, don’t make it a red room.” Jenna snorts at her own joke while I fight the urge to groan.
“Broaden your horizons, Jenna. Read something with a little more substance,” I tell her, bumping her shoulder as I walk by her.
I pause at the door to catch my breath, and make sure my emotions are in check before I attempt to face Tania. The last person I hated was Thomas, and look what I did to him. He tried taking Sam from me, as well. I can see a trend.
“Can you hear me?” I ask Tania as I saunter over to her. Her eyes are glazed over from the sedation, hands are tied together and she has duct tape over her mouth. I briefly wonder where the hell my Hunters got duct tape, then let it go and focus on my task. Tania nods her head, and I note the fear in her eyes. I pull a chair over, sitting close enough to her bed that my knees touch the edge. I made a point of taking my contacts out before I came in, and I wonder what she’s thinking as she looks at me.
“I want you to listen to me carefully. You have no idea who you were dealing with when you challenged me. You came to us, asking us to help you. We did that, and you essentially spit in my face for it.”
She nods, her eyes casting down in what I read as shame. Whether it’s sincere or not, I don’t know. And I don’t care.
“You have no idea how much I want to kill you right now,” I say, my contempt seeping out like bile. Tania’s eyes widen, obvious shock and te
rror gleaming bright. “You should never have expressed your interest in Sam. He is mine. He will always be mine. But you did. And now you’ve pissed off the one person you never want to piss off.”
I close my eyes, allowing the change to take effect. I welcome the burn in my eyes, the ache of my teeth. I feel the power coursing through my veins, and for the first time in a long time I relish that power. It almost feels as though a soothing balm is being poured over my heart. That thought was a little unsettling, but I push it aside as I look up at Tania. Her fear and shock doubles, and her eyes are comically huge.
“You’re really regretting your choices now, aren’t you,” I taunt her. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself. She pleads with her eyes to talk. “No. You’ve said quite enough. Now, you get to listen to me.”
I lean in closer, holding her gaze with mine.
“You’re going to forget you ever met us. You don’t know me or what I am. You don’t know Sam. You don’t know my Hunters.” I turn up the intensity. “You’ve never been here. You never told anyone about the Priestess. You will never remember any of this. This memory has been erased.”
Tania’s eyes completely glaze over before she closes them, letting her head fall back onto the pillow. Within seconds she was asleep. I take that opportunity to make my departure.
“Take her back into the forest. Make sure she has warm clothes and something to eat. If she doesn’t go back to Malcolm, then maybe she’ll lead us to the Priestess. I’ll need a team to stay near her, but out of sight while the rest of us go to my village.” I walk out of Tania’s room and immediately fall into my leadership role, handing out orders. When no one responds to my demands, I stop and face them with a eyebrow raised in question.
“Are you going to stay that way?” Jenna asks, looking at me curiously.
My eyebrows raise higher into my hairline. “Stay what way?”
“All ‘hulked’ out.”
Damn. I didn’t even realize I was still in Cursed mode. How peculiar. That’s never happened to me before. I feel so at ease. Usually being like this makes me feel… well, unnatural. I glance at Sam who has the most curious serene smile.
“Sorry,” I murmur, willing myself to return to what they know as normal. I don’t give myself a chance to wonder about why I didn’t think of it as normal at the moment. “Better?”
“Actually, I think we all kinda dig the ‘hulked-out’ look,” Jenna teases. “But this is cool, too.”
“Yes, well, let’s suit up and get Tania out of here before she wakes up. Sara, I want you on the team that sticks close to Tania. She seemed to relate to you the most. And even though she won’t remember who you are, if something happens and you’re noticed, perhaps you’ll be able to convince her to take you to the Priestess.”
Sara nods intensely. “I’ll get her stuff together. Maybe we can give her some money. Obviously we won’t be able to give her enough food to last her long if she doesn’t go back to Malcolm. But money may help along the way.”
“Good thinking. We’ll do that. I’ll give you enough to cover her for at least a couple of weeks.”
“Damn, can I get in on that?” Jenna grins slyly.
I slant an annoyed glance at her. “Jenna you are traveling in style, eating like a freakin’ queen and I just bought you a butt load of high-end computer equipment. You’ve ‘gotten in on that’.”
Jenna holds her hands up in mock surrender without another word.
“Amanda…”
“Sam should be with you, Ana,” she interrupts before I can say any more. “Emily and Eric will go with you. Jenna, Jeremy and I will stay with Sara. If we see that she is going back to Malcolm, we will catch up to you. If it turns out the other way, we stick with her to see where she goes.”
I blink. Then, I blink again. It was exactly what I was going to suggest, but hearing Amanda confidently spell out what she thought we should do made pride swell inside me. I see the proud grin Sam has as well as he puts his arm around his little sister.
“Good plan,” I say, truly impressed. “Everyone else on board with that?”
I’m met with affirmations by everyone while they pat a blushing Amanda on the back.
“Jenna bought nifty little devices for us to use to keep in touch with each other. With my money, I might add.” I wink at a sheepish Jenna. “Let’s get suited up and wired. We need to head out as soon as possible. I don’t want Tania to wake up in a place she’s not supposed to remember.”
“Amanda, do you copy?” Okay, so I feel a little silly with my terminology, but it seems to entertain my Hunters. ‘So covert’ they say. With our dark clothing, earpieces and moving around in the dark of the night, my group is certainly enjoying themselves. I know that when the situation calls for it, they are all business, so I have no objections to allowing them their little dalliances.
“Loud and clear, Selene.”
I hear giggles in the back-ground and roll my eyes.
“Did you just call me Selene? As in Underworld?”
“Um. Yes.”
“Well… I suppose if I have to be compared to a fake vampire, Kate Beckinsale is a good choice. She was pretty badass in that movie.” I pause, tapping my teeth in thought. “Well, since Buffy is already taken, can I call you, um, Van Helsing? Or maybe Abe Lincoln?”
I hear Amanda chortle in my ear before clearing her throat. “Let’s stick with Beckinsale movies. I can’t be sure of the authenticity of Abe Lincoln being a Hunter.”
Amanda says it with such seriousness that my bark of laughter fills the quietness inside the car making the other occupants look at me with curiosity.
“Fine, Van. We’re about one hundred kilometers from my village. Has Buffy risen yet?”
“Yep. But she has yet to do anything. She seems to be groggy and confused. If she’s not going back to Malcolm, she’s going to have to find transportation.”
“Yes. I’m almost tempted to have you pick her up as a hitchhiker. Is your car secure?”
“Yes, and we’re not far from it in case we need to make a fast getaway.”
“Good. Any problems?”
“Nope, it’s eerily quiet. I was expecting some distractions, but so far, nothing.”
“Hmm. That’s disturbing.”
“I know. I mean, you would think our buddy Malcolm would have his little Cursed slaves roaming around.”
“Cursed slaves,” I repeat slowly.
“Sorry, Ana!” Amanda whispers vehemently. “I didn’t mean anything…”
“What happened to Selene?” I interrupt teasingly, trying to squelch Amanda’s remorse, and I immediately hear a sigh of relief.
“Right, my bad. Okay, Sleeping Buffy is getting ready to move out. I’ll keep you updated. Keep this line open. Van Helsing out.”
I chuckle at Amanda’s silliness. “Tania is moving. Don’t know where, yet,” I tell the others. “There are no Cursed around.”
“That’s odd,” Sam comments distractedly, gazing out of the side window.
“Perhaps it’s because they’re missing the others from when we went to Malcolm’s to get the journals,” Eric suggests.
“Yes,” Emily agrees. “They have no accounting for the others or what happened to them. If they’re planning something with the Priestess, won’t they need all of the help they can get from their…”
“Cursed slaves,” I offer. Emily shrugs timidly. The demure gesture has me thinking of what an enigma Emily is as well. When she is fighting, she is a force to be sure. Don’t let her tiny stature fool you, the girl can kick ass. But when she puts her sword down, her entire demeanor changes. She retreats into herself, and becomes shy and quiet.
“You may be right,” I allow. I brief Amanda on Eric and Emily’s theory. She agrees and proceeds to tell me that Tania is not heading towards Malcolm’s.
I find myself surprised by Tania’s decision. I wouldn’t have taken her for someone with any kind of true internal strength. She is not a leader - or ruler - she is a f
ollower. I suppose, though, she is choosing to follow the Priestess over her brother.
“Tania has made her decision. The others are about an hour and a half behind us.”
“She’s going to the Priestess?” Sam inquires.
“Seems so. She’s headed in this direction.”
“Transpo?”
“She’s walking at the moment, but obviously she can’t walk all the way. We’ll see what she does.”
Sam nods, turning his attention back to what’s beyond the window.
Are you okay?
Sam glances at me with a small smile.
Yes. Just thinking.
His answer surprises me because I haven’t heard any thoughts. Of course, I’ve been preoccupied myself, but I can’t imagine I would be so out of touch with Sam.
Are you shutting me out? I ask incredulously.
Sam turns to me sharply. No! I don’t know how to do that. I don’t want to do that.
I think about that for a moment. He doesn’t know how, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t do it unintentionally.
Are you worried about how I will feel about whatever you’re thinking?
Sam shrugs, then nods. I realize then that he may have just inadvertently figured out how to shut me out.
Sam, baby, let me in.
I’m not keeping you out. I swear.
You’re afraid of me. Afraid of my reactions. That is shutting me out of your thoughts.
Sam stares at me for what seems like an eternity.
I’m not afraid of you, Anala. But I admit I am afraid of my thoughts.
Tell me.
Sam closes his eyes and sighs deeply.
I felt something… different when you were changed.
Do you know what it was?
No. Not really. It was just very…
Calming?
Sam’s eyes widen.
Yes! I was afraid that maybe it meant my - or our - humanity was failing.
I felt it, too. But I don’t think it’s our humanity failing. I think that maybe, I pause to think for a moment. Maybe for the first time I don’t feel… Cursed.
Destined to Meet: A Destined Novel (Destined Novels Book 3) Page 7