Chapter 7
It was dark by the time they arrived at their destination.
The sky was clear and full of stars. Kane landed the helicopter on the lawns in front of the huge house.
Light spilled out from a multitude of windows; the place must be full.
He switched off the engine and sat waiting for the blades to slow.
Or maybe putting off the moment he would have to meet the others.
The original tribe was all back in residence, though from what he understood, they lived in cottages around the estate rather than in the main house. Which meant that Kane could put off meeting his parents for another night.
He wasn’t looking forward to the reunion, and he knew that was purely down to guilt. He hadn’t seen them since he was four years old, when he’d run away so he wouldn’t have to leave Africa with the rest of them. He’d always known he was different from his parents.
Most of his people were passive, non-aggressive, probably the result of inbreeding; there had presumably always been only a small number of them at the start.
But occasionally, someone different was born, someone more aggressive, less passive.
And they became Guardians. Kane had known, even at the age of four, that Africa was where he belonged.
He’d wanted to guard the secret—and eventually help make the mission a reality.
So, he’d stayed behind when almost everyone else had left.
His parents had believed him dead. He’d been out in the world for over a century—he’d left Uganda when he was seventeen—and he knew where they were. He could have gone to see them, let them know he was alive, but he hadn’t.
And he wasn’t sure why.
Maybe he hadn’t wanted the ties. The responsibility. He’d always been happiest when alone.
Tomorrow, he would see them. And apparently, he had a sister, Janelle. A brother and now a sister. He was developing quite a large family.
According to Jake, who had already met Janelle, she wasn’t too fond of Kane. And she hadn’t even laid eyes on him yet. How to make friends and influence people. Jake had also said that Janelle reminded him a lot of Kaitlin. Great.
“Are we moving or are we staying here all night?” Kaitlin asked from behind him.
“The way you’re sitting there staring into space, anyone would think you wanted to be here even less than I do.
” When he didn’t answer, she continued, “Worried about meeting Mummy and Daddy? Afraid they might be harboring a little resentment over the little fact that you allowed them to believe you were dead for a hundred and fifty years? I’m sure they’ll get over it once they meet you. ”
Why did he think she didn’t mean that in a nice way? Like they’d realize they were better off without him? No doubt, she was right. He sighed and unbuckled his harness. As he was jumping out, he caught a movement from the house. It looked like the welcoming committee was on its way.
It was strange, or maybe not so strange, but in the past, he’d never worried about being judged. Now he was feeling...apprehensive? But then, it wasn’t as though they could hide their opinions of him. Still, for the first time in his life, he cared about what others might think.
Kaitlin was already on the ground, but he opened the door and helped Josie out, handing her down. She appeared a little apprehensive as well. Kaitlin on the other hand was expressionless. She liked people to believe she was unfeeling. The truth was she felt too much.
The welcoming committee consisted of Jake and Christa—though luckily, Christa’s father was absent—Sadie and Ethan, and Rose and her gun-runner boyfriend, Dave Madsen. Or ex-gun-runner. Dave was now working for the Conclave.
There was also a woman at the back, who he didn’t recognize. She had the striking coloring of the Kindred, and she was looking straight at him.
“Hey, brother.” The words whispered in his mind. This must be Janelle, the sister he’d never met—she’d been born after his parents left Uganda. So much for putting off the family reunions until tomorrow. “Not a chance,” she said.
Josie pulled free of him—he hadn’t even realized he still had hold of her—and hurried to meet her sister. They hugged, Josie burying her head in Sadie’s shoulder.
“Aw,” Kaitlin murmured from beside him. “Almost makes it worth being here.”
“Almost, but not quite,” he muttered in reply.
She flashed him a glance and a grin. “Come on, chin up.”
She stepped away from him, and he reluctantly followed.
The Kindred had always been close—something he’d never known.
Though maybe he had, as a young child before his parents had left.
But he couldn’t remember. The Guardians had never shown any signs of affection.
In all the years he’d been in Africa, he didn’t think Jonas had ever hugged him.
He hadn’t missed the physical connection, but it made meetings like this awkward. He just didn’t know what to do with himself.
He watched as Kaitlin hugged Sadie, then Ethan, Rose and Dave, Christa and finally turned to Jake.
“Brat.” Jake opened his arms. She moved into them and laid her head on his chest. “We missed you,” he said.
Kane knew they were close, and he also knew that Jake saw her as a sister. But he wasn’t quite sure of Kaitlin’s feelings for the other man, and something stirred in his gut.
“You love her,” Janelle said in his head, and his gaze flashed to her, his eyes narrowing.
“Mind your own business,” he replied.
“It is my business, just showing a little sisterly interest.”
Finally, Kaitlin stepped back, and as one, they all focused on him. What? He heard Janelle’s soft laughter in his head. She was finding this amusing. He was glad one of them was.
Christa stepped toward him. She was pretty, rather than beautiful, with blond curls and blue eyes. “Happy New Year.”
Janelle snorted in his head. “Yeah, welcome to the End of Days.”
He bit back a smile. He could see why Jake thought she was like Kaitlin.
“Thanks. To you, too.” He looked around. “All of you.”
Then Christa hugged him. She was short, especially compared to the rest of them, and only came up to his chest. She was also soft and warm and genuinely nice. He held her for a moment, then caught sight of Jake over her shoulder. He nodded.
He put Christa away from him. “So, is everyone here?”
“Yes,” Jake replied. “You’re the last.”
The whole group together—well apart from Leila and Brandon. If anyone wanted to bring them down, now was the time to do it. They needed to get inside and talk about this new development of Kaitlin’s. Someone had clearly found her. But who were they? What did they want?
Jake must have picked up his thoughts as his eyes narrowed. He turned to Kaitlin. “Why didn’t you tell us straight away?”
“Because I didn’t know anything.”
“You knew something.”
“Well, I wanted to know more.”
The mountains all around them were covered in snow, showing up against the dark of the night, and a cool wind blew from the north. Kane decided he hated Scotland. He shivered. “Let’s get inside,” he said. “And Kaitlin will tell you all about it.”
She turned to him and scowled. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
He shook his head. “Kaitlin can tell you if it pleases her to do so.”
Without waiting for an answer, he headed for the house.
They all fell in around him. A wide stone stairway led up to big wooden double doors.
He pushed them open and stepped into a hallway with flagstone floors and tapestries on the walls, like something out of a goddamn movie.
Then he realized he had no clue which way to go and turned to Jake.
“Martin’s in the kitchen,” Jake said. “We’ll head down there.
” He took the lead and Kane followed, along the hallway, through a door, down a set of stone steps, through another door and into a huge, cavernous kitchen, filled with the scent of cooking food.
A large wooden table was situated in the center, and Martin Rayleigh stood there, chopping vegetables.
Martin was the descendant of Alasdair Rayleigh who had originally discovered Kane’s people back in 1878. Kane vaguely remembered the man, and he could see that Martin bore a striking resemblance. He was in his fifties and looked every one of his years.
Janelle crossed to him, slipped her arms around his waist from behind, and kissed his neck.
He stiffened for a moment and then gave a resigned shrug.
Kane had known there was history between the two of them—Jake had told him.
Martin had broken the relationship off, because he was aware that he would grow old while Janelle remained young.
He hadn’t been able to face the prospect, but clearly, Janelle wasn’t giving in without a fight.
“Too right.”
Otherwise, the room was empty of people, though a huge glossy Doberman stretched out across the flagstone floor. He lifted his head and gave a bark of welcome but didn’t get up. This was Max, Sadie’s dog.
“Where’s everyone else?” Kaitlin asked.
“Gone to the local pub,” Martin replied. “They’ll be here for the meeting in the morning. You’ll see everyone then. We didn’t want to overwhelm you all at once.”
“Stop treating me like I’m delicate,” she snapped.
“Okay, then. We wanted to talk to you before the meeting,” Jake said.
“Well, talk,” she said. “But give me wine first.”
“Sit down,” Martin said. “I got some wine from the cellar—” He waved a hand toward a sideboard where an impressive array of wine bottles stood. “—and dinner will be in half an hour. Why don’t we wait until after we’ve eaten to discuss...things?”
Kane stifled his impatience. He wanted to find out more about these men who had come after Kaitlin. But he supposed he’d have to wait. He wasn’t good at that, but he was learning.
A couple of the bottles had been opened and Rose brought them to the table, then got glasses from a cupboard. Clearly, she felt at home here. “Sit,” she said.
Kane sat in the nearest chair, situated at one end of the big table.
He watched, with a mixture of amusement and resignation as Kaitlin sidled around the room, grabbing a bottle of wine and a glass as she passed, then took the seat furthest from him.
She poured herself a drink as the others took seats around the table.
All except Rose, who was helping with the cooking. Seemed weird.
She tossed him a look. “Hey, I’m very domesticated.”
Jake poured the other bottle into glasses and shoved them around the table while Rose opened two more bottles. “You’re a load of lushes,” she said, grabbing a glass for herself and taking a seat next to Dave. Kane had Christa on one side and an empty seat on the other. Mr. Popular.
Janelle cast him an amused glance and then came and sat beside him.
He relaxed back and sipped his wine. It was good, deep dark red, rich, with a hint of vanilla and blackberries. He smiled at the thought.
He hadn’t tasted wine until he was twenty-one—that had been his very first trip to London and the wine had tasted like shit.
His mind drifted back over those early years.
Life had been hard growing up and had in no way prepared him for the outside world.
Certainly, they hadn’t had luxuries like wine.
But once he’d gotten over the shock and the awe, he’d embraced the new experiences and thrown himself into his new life.
He’d been a merchant on the trading routes to Asia, trained as a doctor, driven cattle across America, traveled with the tribesmen in Afghanistan.
Tasted wine in almost every country of the world.
He looked up and realized everyone around the table was watching him. Had they been sharing his thoughts? A look into his past.
“Well, I was,” Janelle said. “Of course, our parents told me what it was like in Africa. But leaving was different for them. They had each other and the protection of Alasdair Rayleigh. They were cushioned from the harshness of life. It must have been fascinating to go out alone like that, not knowing anything. To survive.”
He looked across and found Kaitlin watching him. Had she been in his mind? But she glanced away without giving him any idea.
“It was.” Whatever happened, he’d had a good life. He’d seen things and changes other people could only imagine. And he’d done a lot of good in the world. Maybe not enough to offset the bad. But who had?
“Christa,” Jake said, and everyone laughed.
Okay, not quite everyone. There were a few here who couldn’t read minds—Christa, Dave, Martin, Ethan. How did that feel to be so isolated from the people around you? To know they could read you, but you were permanently deaf. He couldn’t imagine it.
“Christa what?” she asked.
“Nothing bad,” Jake replied. “We were just saying how nice you were.”
“Ugh.”