13. Thirteen
Thirteen
Aaron
“I don’t want to do this.” Presley had his arms crossed as he sat opposite me on his bed. His room was as big as Kimberly’s and my living room.
He wasn’t looking at me, just staring at the wall with a bored expression.
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, but that’s what we’re doing. And . . . I’d like to have your support.”
He rolled his eyes, and his jaw flexed.
“Why are you so angry at me?” I was trying my best to understand him. I’d taken a full five minutes to prepare for our conversation by composing myself and thinking of what Luke would do. He never lost his cool and didn’t get snippy unless he was extremely stressed out. I needed to be a better brother than I’d been and be patient.
“I don’t know. I’m just angry and I’m sad. And my chest hurts. Like all day long, and it just doesn’t let up. It’s like that all day, and I can’t even nap or anything to get a break from it, so I just hurt all the time now. I just . . . I hate it.”
“My chest hurts too. It got worse when you left.”
“Yeah, I thought it did.” He’d briefly explained his adventure with the dogs, but something else was bothering him, and I didn’t think he’d tell me.
“You can be mad at me if you want.”
“What?” He stopped picking at an unraveled thread on the quilt.
“I’ll be your punching bag if it makes you feel better. I just want you to talk to me, and I want you to not run off where I can’t find you.”
When I couldn’t find Presley after thirty minutes, Kimberly had to remind me no one knew where we were. The likeliness of him being taken was slim but not zero. I couldn’t even imagine him disappearing. I’d never forgive myself.
He nodded. “Okay.”
“It’s going to be okay. This is temporary. I’m going to get them back. I promise.”
He lifted his head. “Really?”
“I swear. I’m going to make it happen.”
If there wasn’t a path, I’d forge one. I didn’t care what or who was standing in my way. Nothing, not even a vampire queen, would stop me. I had the confidence but not the skill. I was still kind of hoping the skill followed heroic declarations like in the movies.
We moved to the kitchen where Mom and Kimberly had prepped dinner. The smell of thyme and baked bread filled the air. I snuck a kiss to Kimberly’s cheek. Now when she blushed, I remembered the taste of her. It was strange, like memorizing the sound of her heartbeat. The strangeness grew with age, I guess.
Presley had given Kimberly a hug immediately when he came home, and she accepted his very solemn apology.
At the dinner table, he took a seat next to Kimberly, and I sat across from him. The simmer pot wafted steam into the air, and the butter melted on the loaf of bread. Mom was still cooking like we could eat with her.
“So, Mom, I have something to ask.”
“Okay . . .” She sat at the table, and anxiously arranged her silverware.
“To find Zach and Luke, we need to find The Legion.”
“The one that locked you in the room?” she asked.
“Yep,” Presley answered.
“Kilian did. He’s the leader.”
“And this is the one you were trying to escape from before the fire?”
“Right again, Mom,” Presley said.
I gave him a warning glance, and Mom sipped her tea.
“Yes, it’s risky, but it’s the only option. They know all the history of the cult. We need them to help us.”
“And you think they’ll just do what you say because you ask them nicely?”
Kimberly stepped in. Thank god. “No, but they need us because of the connection the boys have to the leaders of the cult. We need them. We won’t be able to find the twins without their help.”
She said what we all knew. It wasn’t just improbable without The Legion, it was impossible. We had no choice.
“What’s your favor?” Mom asked.
“We need to go to the city hospital and pretend to have an animal attack injury. Emphasis on the blood loss. That’s how they found us the first time . . . because of the police report. You could help us because you’re a nurse, and you could help keep suspicions down while we’re there. Make sure the report is made and the blood loss is specified in the medical records.”
“I do know a few colleagues in the hospital close to Fairbanks.”
“Believe it or not, this is the least dangerous option.”
“Okay.” She nodded and picked at the loaf of bread, like it was the simplest answer in the world.
“Just like that?” Presley asked.
“Whatever we need to do to find your brothers, I’ll do it.”
“Well, I want to help too. You’ll need me. I’m good at sneaking,” Presley said.
The more the better. We needed to put out the equivalent of a bat signal.
“If I had to guess, they’ve been tracking us up the coast anyway. This should be simple. Easy to pinpoint,” Kimberly said.
“What have you guys been doing that would get you on their radar?” Mom asked.
I looked to Presley, and he raised his brows and motioned for me to speak.
I could practically read his mind. You’re the oldest. You explain.
“We kinda . . . roamed bars and fed.”
“On people.” Presley specified.
“Right.” Mom took another sip of her tea. “But you won’t do any of that in town, right? Can you venture out?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. Plus, it’s not time yet. We drank right before we came.” Presley rubbed Mom’s hand.
Her face had drained of color as she picked up a fork to eat, but with each steaming hot bite, it came back. Blood-drinking would be the hardest thing for her to accept. It was for me. Oddly enough, I’d forgotten about blood completely. A few days earlier, that was impossible. Kimberly’s blood worked to tame the need. I didn’t know what that meant or how long it would last, but it was a relief. I could focus on what mattered, which was getting my brothers back. Then our only problem would be buying more dining room chairs so we could all sit together at the dinner table again.
“How do we keep Mom safe?” Presley asked. “What if Kilian goes all evil again and uses her as bait or something.”
“Good point,” I said.
“We don’t let anyone at the hospital know we’re related. Maybe she found us after the attack?” Kimberly’s brain worked quickly.
“Sounds like we have a plan.”
This was it. The last hope my brothers had.
Me. A hopeless case who was driven mad by blood occasionally. Not a strong fighter and not a good plan maker. My brother? Childish and about as hopeless and confused as me with the queen’s blood, but he could be cunning. Especially if it involved talking. My mom? A brave, strong woman who should not be involved. Then Kimberly. Maybe our actual only hope. I was confident we wouldn’t have made it out of the forest that day without her. Not just her smarts but her . Presley and I needed her.
This was the last hope we’d all be together again. Something told me there wasn’t any more running. Our next encounter with The Family would decide everything, and we needed to be ready to end this once and for all.