What she needed now was not proof, but answers. What did Aldrich want? Why was he trying so hard to convince her that turning into vampire was not only possible, but also the right choice?
Kira looked at the mansion. All the answers she needed where hidden in there somewhere. She just needed to find the right crack, the one that would bring Aldrich’s carefully constructed façade crumbling down.
Chapter Eight
It turned out that getting answers was hard—a lot harder than Kira initially realized. Almost a week had passed and Kira was no closer to finding out Aldrich’s real motives. Instead, the four of them had fallen into a strange sort of routine.
In the morning, Kira would call her parents and tell them fake stories about Florida. Thank goodness her smart phone had service, because she was basically living off of her weather application. A huge storm had blown through Orlando last week and her father wouldn’t stop asking about all of the gory details, so Kira had had to search for photos of downed trees to send him. Luckily, her mother was less nosy and instead asked only about Luke, something that was much easier for Kira to lie about. Maybe because she was already sort of lying to herself about it.
Luke was definitely still mad. At least, that was how it seemed to Kira. He finally bought a new phone and she had tried calling him a few times during the half an hour she had before breakfast, but he never answered. Occasionally Luke texted her, to make sure she was still alive or to update her on his location, but nothing personal. So Kira was left to her own daydreams and imaginings. She’d gone over their reunion one hundred times in her head—exactly what she would say to apologize and make him understand. She envisioned all of his possible responses to ready herself, but it was starting to drive her crazy.
After Kira exhausted all of her phone calls and pointless fantasies, she would make her way downstairs for breakfast. She had gotten the timing down perfectly, so that when she entered the dining room, her food was still hot but all of the blood-filled glasses had already been emptied and taken out of the room. While Kira ate, an hour of pointless small talk would begin.
Then Tristan would disappear with Aldrich, who was helping him channel his mental abilities to make them stronger. Kira would go off with her ‘mother’ to talk more about the process of changing into a vampire and sometimes Kira would grill her for details about her father. After a few hours, when Kira knew her fake smile was no longer believable, she would leave her mother to wander around the castle.
In the past week, Kira had pulled on every book, looked behind every painting, and twisted any knob within reach, but still she hadn’t found anything that looked remotely like a dungeon or trapdoor. Kira was sure Aldrich was hiding something and she was determined to scope it out, but she had come up completely empty.
Eventually, when Kira felt ready to put her happy façade back on, she would go find Tristan. Being with him tore her in two. One half relished his presence and let him sooth her into a peaceful happiness. The other half couldn’t fight the knot in her stomach, the one so tightly roped around her lies that they seemed to choke her. Kira wasn’t sure how much longer she could go without telling him the truth, without telling him that she would never turn into a vampire and would never give up her conduit powers.
So after a week of this strange balance, Kira woke up ready for things to change, ready for something to happen, because she wasn’t sure she could keep up the show much longer.
And then something did change. On the nightstand a foot from her head, Kira’s cell phone was ringing. She reached for the device, ready to answer all of her parents’ questions for an eighth time, when she saw the caller ID. It was Luke.
Kira fumbled for the phone. She knew Tristan would be able to hear, and Aldrich too, but she didn’t care.
“Hello?” She answered and sat upright on the bed.
“Hey,” Luke said. Kira melted into the sound of his voice. It had been so long since she had heard the subtly deep but always warm lilt to his words.
“Hi,” she said lamely.
“So…”
“Yeah?” Kira asked, wanting to shake herself. Seriously? One syllable sentences—was that really the best she could do?
“I’m just calling because I thought I should let you know that I’m at the airport and should be landing in England later tonight.”
“Really?” Kira asked. Clearly actual sentences were off the table for her right now.
“Yeah, I’ll be in London, staying with some conduits.”
“Where?” This was becoming ridiculous.
“I’ll text you the address.”
“Great,” Kira said. There was a slight silence on the line, and Kira knew it was up to her to break it. “Luke, I—”
“Don’t Kira,” he said, cutting off her apology. His tone wasn’t angry or mean, like Kira might have expected. It was oddly excited, like he was ready to hear what she had to say and wanted to hear it. So then why had he cut her off?
“Luke,” she tried again.
“Can you meet me in London?” He asked, cutting her off again. “I think we really need to figure some things out, talk in person.”
Would Aldrich let her leave? Did she need his permission?
“I’ll be there tomorrow,” Kira said. After all, there was a car parked out front with her name on it. And if Aldrich tried to stop her, well, she hadn’t used her powers in a while and there was a lot of pent up energy inside of her that she would happily throw in his direction.
“Good,” he said, and Kira heard the electric buzz in his voice. He was definitely excited to see her, which left Kira happy but also ridiculously confused. In all of her make-believe scenarios, he was angry or furious or ambivalent, but never excited.
And with the knowledge that he wasn’t furious with her, Kira found she was grinning. And she wasn’t sure how she knew it, but something told her Luke was grinning too.
They were silent for a few seconds, stuck in a comfortable stillness neither one of them wanted to break. But in the background, Kira heard an airport gate agent call for boarding.
“That’s me,” Luke said.
“See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
And he hung up, leaving Kira with a blank screen.
She slid off the bed to get dressed and face the three vampires waiting for her downstairs. Every one of them had probably heard the entire conversation and she was sure she had more than a few questions waiting for her at breakfast.
Sure enough, when she turned the corner to sit down at the dining table, six eyes were staring at her.
“Good morning,” Kira said before sliding into her seat. When she looked down, she noticed something else had changed. There was no breakfast for her. Not a big deal really, but odd that after such a static week, another thing would be different. Without food as a distraction, Kira decided to just face the firing squad.
But the twilight zone kept on coming, because when she met Tristan’s gaze he wasn’t angry at all. Kira reached for his hand and slipped her fingers in-between his.
“Was that Luke?” He asked, but his voice was perfectly friendly. Kira raised an eyebrow slightly. Tristan always got freakishly possessive when she talked to or about Luke. What had changed?
“Yeah, he’s coming to England. He’ll be here later tonight and,” Kira took a breath, determined to stick her ground, “I want the car to go see him.”
“Of course,” Aldrich said. “You’re not in jail, Kira. You are perfectly free to do as you please.”
“Okay…” She said. Something wasn’t quite right about this situation. Everything was a little too easy. Aldrich was being a little too polite. But her stomach was rumbling and she was too hungry to deal with it. Instead, Kira asked, “Where’s my food?”
“Miko dropped it on her way up from the kitchen,” her fake mother said, “She’ll be bringing you another plate shortly.”
“That’s okay.” Kira stood. This was the perfect opportunity to check ou
t the kitchen she had been so curious about. Cooking would also be a welcome distraction. “I can go make it myself. Will you point me in the right direction?”
“I’ll take you,” Tristan said. Kira followed him out of the room and around a few bends before they reached an oversized black door.
When she opened it, Kira almost wanted to laugh. The kitchen, unlike every other part of the house, was old. There were no white tiles in here, the one place white tiles were actually acceptable. The floor was made of slate slabs and the counters were constructed from scratchy granite that had definitely seen better days. Wooden cabinets hung from old stone walls that were clean, but not polished or flattened. The equipment was older than anything Kira had cooked with before, but definitely still useable. The only thing strange was the amount of food—there was a lot of it, but no one around to eat it. In her quick sweep of the room, Kira noticed two refrigerators, a freestanding freezer, and a pantry wall stuffed to the brim with spices and dried foods.
The only other person in the room was Miko, who practically ran out the door as soon Tristan and Kira walked in. Kira avoided her blank stare and tried not to look at the tired girl who seemed so willing to be a vampire’s plaything. It was sad really.
But she and Tristan were finally alone, and as Kira searched the cabinets for eggs and bread, she asked the question that had been on her mind since they left the dining room.
“So why aren’t you mad?” Kira questioned, still perusing the cabinets for a pan and vegetable oil.
“About what?”
“About Luke.” Wasn’t that part of the question obvious?
Tristan slid up behind Kira and gripped her hips, surprising her. He placed a soft kiss on the nape of her neck.
“Why would I be mad?” He asked innocently.
Kira spun in the circle of his embrace, leaving her supplies on the counter behind her.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she gave him a coy smile, “maybe because the last five thousand times I’ve talked to Luke or even mentioned his name, you’ve been pissed off by it.”
He grinned down at her. “I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration.” Kira stared at him in disbelief. “Okay, okay, Luke’s not my favorite person in the world.” Kira rolled her eyes and reached for the pan on the counter behind her. “But that’s all in the past,” Tristan concluded.
“Has your old age finally enlightened you?” Kira asked with a smirk and turned on the stove.
“I thought we made an agreement about old man jokes,” Tristan deadpanned. Kira barked out a laugh.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. Continue—it’s all in the past because…?”
“Because he’s almost out of the picture. You’re going to see him to say goodbye, right?”
“I guess,” Kira said, feeling her stomach drop to the floor and her cheery mood completely deflate. Needing to look somewhere besides Tristan, Kira spun to reach for the carton of eggs she had pulled from the fridge.
Everything made sense now. Tristan’s mood and Aldrich’s obliging attitude—they thought she was going to see Luke to make her final farewell. It made perfect sense in a strange way. Kira had made all of them believe she wanted to turn and wanted to become a vampire, so why wouldn’t she say goodbye to Luke. He was a conduit. If she turned, Luke would become her enemy.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Tristan asked. His voice was earnest and concerned. “I know it won’t be easy for you.”
“No,” Kira whispered. She took a deep breath, hardening her nerves to turn around and look at Tristan. His face was open, caring. His eyes were slightly down-turned with worry about her. The last thing Kira wanted to do in this moment was lie to him, but she had no choice. “I need to talk to Luke on my own. He needs to know it’s my choice and mine alone.”
Tristan nodded and reached across the counter to hold her hand. “I love you,” he said.
“I love you, too,” Kira told him, holding off the catch in her throat. Those words weren’t a lie, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she could go on saying them when the countdown had already started. “Can I have some time alone? Just to clear my head and think about what I’m going to tell him?”
“Of course.” Tristan squeezed her hand and kissed the top of her head before stepping out the door. Kira let a single teardrop fall from her left eye. She needed to find out about Aldrich’s plan, she needed answers, because she couldn’t do this much longer.
Her stomach growled, reminding Kira that even with the turmoil stirring in her head, her body needed sustenance. But even after eating two eggs with a side of toast, Kira was still hungry. It was one of those times when her taste buds yearned for a specific flavor, but her brain hadn’t yet figured out what that craving was.
She opened the refrigerator, perusing the shelves. Orange juice? No, tangy wasn’t really what she was feeling. Salad? Definitely not. Yogurt? No.
Kira closed the door, frustrated. She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, trying to figure it out, and decided to search the freezer. She could use some ice cream. But there was only one carton and it was vanilla. Gross, Kira thought, who doesn’t have chocolate ice cream? Vampires, that’s who.
Now completely positive that ice cream was definitely what she wanted to eat, Kira crossed the room to search the freestanding freezer for more flavors. Ice cream would help her figure out this whole situation. It was amazing what a little sugar—and by a little, Kira meant an entire tub of Ben & Jerry’s—could do to clarify the mind.
She reached for the handle and pulled, but the door didn’t open. She furrowed her brows and yanked again, but the door still wouldn’t budge. The vacuum seal must be too tight, Kira thought and reached around to dig her finger into the plastic securing the door, trying to get some air in to break the seal. But the material was solid and not squishy. Curious, Kira inched a foot to the side to look at the door. From the front, this had seemed like a freezer, but looking at it from the side, Kira wasn’t so sure. It looked fake in an odd way.
Kira careened her head to search the wall for a plug, but there were no wires. Instead, the entire back of the fridge extended and molded into the wall.
What the heck? Kira thought. She tugged on the handle again, yanking until her arm was sore. And then she saw it: a tiny, miniscule little button barely the size of a pea was on the side of the handle, in an awkward spot just out of reach of her thumb. Kira pressed it and the door swung open without making a sound. She couldn’t see very far, but it looked like some sort of passage. Of course—where better to hide the entrance to a secret tunnel than in the kitchen. No vampires would ever notice it. Good thing Kira was a foodie and was way more curious than was healthy.
She stepped inside and the door sealed shut behind her, trapping Kira in the dark. Luckily, she was a human light bulb.
Kira brought a flame to her palm and watched as the fire danced around the reflective surface of the tunnel. With her free hand, Kira rubbed the wall. At first, it had looked like stone, normal in a castle. But now Kira realized it was glass. Extremely thick glass had been fixed to the stone. Looking down at her feet, Kira saw glass there too. For a second, she felt like a fish in an aquarium. But rather than harp on it, Kira stepped further into the tunnel.
She squeezed down the narrow walkway, wandering aimlessly until finally something like light appeared around the bend. Kira walked closer, stepping hesitantly, until she saw Tristan. The glass remained unbroken, but there was a hole in the stone and through it, Kira could see Tristan sitting on a sofa reading a book. Kira waved in big, exaggerated motions, but Tristan didn’t notice her.
“Tristan,” Kira whispered. He still didn’t move. “Tristan,” she said a little louder, but nothing. Finally, in her normal voice, Kira called out his name. Nada.
Kira tried to think of the design of room. Surely, she would have noticed a big gaping hole in the wall that led to a glass tunnel. What could possibly keep Tristan from seeing her? And then Kira remembered. A mirror. The
re was a medium sized mirror hanging over the mantel in that living room—it must be a one-way mirror.
And the glass, Kira suddenly realized, it must be completely soundproof—so soundproof, that even visiting vampires wouldn’t be able to hear Aldrich walking around.
That asshole! Kira wanted to yell. Then she realized she was in a soundproof tunnel and she did let out a shriek. Tristan, very cute sitting and reading his book, didn’t even bat an eyelash at the noise.
Kira, feeling nauseous all of a sudden, remembered that there was a mirror in the bedroom she and Tristan were staying in. It hung on the wall right over their pillows.
“Oh my God,” Kira said and covered her open mouth with her hand. What a pervert! She had gotten undressed and changed and everything in that room, and Aldrich could have been watching the entire time. It was disgusting!
Kira turned and ran down the hallway. She needed to get out of there. Suddenly the glass was suffocating her, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. But she had no idea where she was going. Every time she rounded a corner, Kira expected to find some clue as to where she was, but the passage didn’t quite follow the line of the house—either that, or Kira had already forgotten where the kitchen was in comparison to the rest of the house.
She passed by more spying windows, saw more rooms that she had sat in or searched without realizing Aldrich may have been watching her the entire time. Was he at all suspicious that Kira was tricking them? Did he already know her secret—that there was no way she would ever turn into a vampire? Or had Kira managed to avoid detection?
For some reason, Kira thought she was still undiscovered. If Aldrich had known that she was playing them all and telling half-truths to Tristan, there was no way he would let her go see Luke. It was a small comfort, but it was enough to make Kira slow down for a minute and calm her nerves. Aldrich didn’t know she had found out his secret, so why not use it against him. Maybe she could find him and do a little spying of her own. As they say, payback’s a bit—
Blaze (Midnight Fire Series) Page 10