28. Chapter 28
28
M r. Navy Suit disappeared down the hall to the restroom.
Question after question fluttered through her mind, but she couldn’t ask Fabian.
She felt Kade sift through her thoughts.
We can talk about all of this later. What ye need to do now is focus on getting out of there. They willnae attack ye in the building, but they’re coming for ye like bees to honey. The more of them that arrive by the time we get there, the harder it’ll be to defend ye, especially with humans around.
Watching through his mind, she saw Kade turn and talk to Connor and Asta about a plan. Both of them agreed that leaving from the ground floor was not an option. Siri was in the car, and she held up a hand to stop their conversation.
“You all need to call their bluff. They easily have hundreds ready to storm Kelly when she leaves that building, but they can’t attack in the presence of humans, and they sure as hell won’t attack on Council grounds. Tell her to get on that elevator with Fabian and Asmund and leave the building like they would on any other day.”
Kade tossed the thought around, weighing the pros and cons.
Connor tilted his head in thought. “She has a point.”
Asta clearly wasn’t on board by the look of panic on her face, but she stayed silent.
Ye saw all that, lass. Let’s give it a go. We will be in front of the building waiting by the time yer off the elevator. Grab a pen and pad from the receptionist and write the plan to Fabian.
Kade, this is fucking nuts. Fabian might actually give birth to a cow.
He laughed out loud, picturing what she’d said. Then she saw it and she was laughing.
The receptionist looked her over, clearly questioning her sanity.
Fabian raised an eyebrow in question.
Sighing, Kelly got up and asked the receptionist for a pen and pad.
With a look of annoyance, the young lady smacked a pen on top of a legal pad and slid them across the desk.
Not one to give up on manners, Kelly thanked her, then snatched them and began writing furiously on the pad.
Fabian watched as Kelly wrote, then he did something he’d never done before—he swore.
“Fucking hell.”
Cow, Kade, he’s having a cow.
Kade was laughing again. I ken, I see him. Stick to it.
She scribbled more, telling Fabian they all agreed on the plan, even Siri.
Fabian shook his head slowly, visibly fighting for calm. He exhaled and squared his shoulders. “Let us go then.”
Kelly tore the sheet from the pad, then handed it back to the receptionist with the pen.
Not wanting anyone else to get ahold of the paper, she folded it and put it in the pocket of her hoodie.
They walked to the elevator again, and Kelly pressed the button this time.
When the elevator arrived and opened this time, three men were waiting for them.
Kelly did her best to calm herself as they entered. Fabian and Asmund put themselves between her and the men, and she hit the button for the ground floor.
The elevator sped down while the six of them stood frozen in the tension that permeated the small space.
Kelly was so nervous that she jumped when the ding sounded for the first floor. The doors slid open silently, and she did her best to exit without breaking into a sprint. They walked through the security checkpoint, and the men followed.
As soon as they exited the building, more people swarmed to them, all looking normal yet ruthless at the same time. They flocked around the three of them like paparazzi, coming incredibly close without actually touching.
Each step was like walking through tar as Kelly forced one foot in front of the other. The crowd just barely parted as they moved.
With all the people around them, Kelly lost her sense of direction, but Kade saved the day.
She’d been so caught up in what was happening, she hadn’t heard or felt him talking to her. The people in front of her parted, and Kade reached out, grabbing her hand. He pulled her to him fiercely, hugging her tight, then turned and headed back the way he’d come, pulling her by the hand.
In single file, the four of them made their way through the crowd and to the car.
As they drew closer to the car, the crowd became more hostile. People pushed up against her, yelling, growling, and hissing at her. They pushed Fabian back and forth between them, trying to get a reaction from him. Then, one punched Kade with a hard right hook at vampire speed.
Time froze in that moment. Kelly felt the power rise in Kade as he prepared to release a blast so strong it would knock the crowd down. She squeezed his hand as tight as she could and sent him a loud message to control his anger. If he attacked now, this was all over.
The power rose in him, building as he prepared to release it. Kelly felt it and pushed back against it, willing it back down inside of him. Her fists clenched, and her eyes squeezed shut so tightly it gave her a headache. For a moment, she thought she’d lost, but then Kade’s power dissipated, and he only released a warning jolt.
Relief washed through her. They’d avoided what would have surely been a bloodbath.
The crowd wasn’t phased in the slightest, and her group was able to keep moving forward through the sea of people, one painstaking step at a time.
By the time they made it to the car, it was like they were walking through a mob of zombies. Every person laid their hands on Kelly, grabbing her just enough to make her feel violated before they let her go. It was clear that they were trying to provoke a magical reaction, causing her to violate the Council’s terms.
Kade opened the door and shoved her into the SUV, not bothering to be nice about it. He and Fabian piled in after and slammed the door. Asmund opened the back gate and crawled in as the SUV entered the flow of traffic.
The mob pounded on the SUV as it pulled away, and the back window shattered when someone threw themselves at it.
A man held on, hanging from the back of the SUV with his arm draped over the shards of glass where the window once was. He growled ferociously and reached his other arm inside, his hand searching for purchase on anything or anyone.
A gunshot rang out inside the car, and the man disappeared from the back window as a red hole appeared in his forehead.
“Fuck!” Kelly yelled, needing an outlet for everything she was experiencing. “Fucking crazy mother fuckers!”
“I concur,” Siri said from the front seat.
Turning back, Kelly saw Asmund covered in shattered glass, but he didn’t seem to be concerned.
Connor went straight to the facts. “There were easily two thousand people there. Someone put great effort into this, and they’ve been preparing for more than two weeks. They’ve known this would happen.”
“Aye, we have a bigger problem on our hands than we thought. They’re miles ahead of us.”
Kade looked Kelly over, feeling through their link to make sure she was okay. She gave him a halfhearted smile of reassurance, but the truth was she was scared out of her mind, and Kade felt it. He tried to redirect the conversation. “Let’s wait to analyze everything until we’re back at the apartment. We’ll focus on getting there in one piece.”
The engine revved as Connor slammed the accelerator to the floor. Horns blazed and curses flew at them as they sped through the city, traffic laws be damned.
“Won’t the police come after us?” Kelly wondered out loud.
“Aye, that’s the idea. If we get enough police following, the Arcane will back down. They willnae chance exposure with the human authorities on our tail.”
“Right, but then what do we do about the human authorities?”
Kade’s eyes went black for a moment before returning to their normal gray.
“Oh, that. All of them, though?”
“Nae, just the highest-ranking one. We’ll make sure he’s called to the scene and give him a story, then he’ll explain it to the rest of them.”
The tires screeched as they turned a corner, and Kelly was thrown into Kade. He caught her effortlessly and held her. More honks and curses followed them as they whizzed past cars and people, narrowly missing each one.
Sirens wailed from a distance, growing closer as time passed.
No one in the car seemed to mind any of the commotion. They all acted like this was just another normal day. Kelly glanced at Siri to see a joyous smile on the woman’s face.
They’re all fucking insane.
Aye, we are.
Shit, sorry, forgot you can hear me.
It’s all right, lass. This really is another day for all of us. Just picture this same thing in horse-drawn carriages with pitchforks and torches.
She rolled with laughter as an old Mel Brooks movie popped into her mind.
Well, it wasnae that crazy.
It’s a great visual, though.
Aye.
The sirens were right behind them now, the blue and red lights reflected inside the SUV.
Connor turned onto the motorway and took advantage of the more open road. The roar of the engine increased, and so did their speed.
If she had to guess, Kelly would have put their speed at 120 mph. Cars stood still as they flew by, but the police kept up.
The chase went on for what seemed like an eternity, but it was really only fifteen minutes or so. The police tried loudspeakers and all sorts of methods to get them to stop, but Connor evaded each one like a pro.
When they finally stopped at Kade’s apartment building, multiple police cars surrounded them. The officers got out of their cars, guns at the ready.
Kade whispered for everyone to stay put, and he got out, arms up.
Kelly felt him strategically choose the most senior officer to speak with. He took two steps forward, then got down on his knees.
The officer approached him, and Kade caught his eyes just before he had to lie down on the ground.
Watching through Kade’s mind, Kelly saw him grab hold of the officer’s consciousness and will the man to call his superior. He convinced the officer they were high-ranking diplomats, and the best thing to do was get the situation under wraps with a good cover story and let them go.
“My mistake, sir.” The officer said, then he turned to the others. “Lower your weapons. There’s been a misunderstanding.”
“But sir—” a short stubby one started.
“I said there’s been a misunderstanding, Smith. Lower your weapons.”
Smith’s mouth flapped a couple times as he tried to figure out what was going on, but then he promptly shut his flap and lowered his gun.
Kade stood and walked over to the SUV. He motioned for Connor to roll his window down, then leaned in to talk while the police figured things out.
“Everyone, out here. Connor, call someone to pick up the car and get it fixed. We all walk into the apartment together.”
Connor nodded in agreement. Everyone else was silent.
Kade went back over to talk to the superior officer and handed him a business card. He told the officer to call if he ever needed help that the department couldn’t give. Kelly found it a little unsettling, but at the same time, Kade was making up for bending the guy’s mind.
Two days later, they were all safely back at the house in Dallas, Siri included. When she learned about what Kade and Kelly shared, she insisted on going with them, but she hadn’t said why.
With all the people after Kelly, Asta’s game of cat and mouse wouldn’t have worked that time, so they snuck her out through the underground tunnels Kade’s father had set up decades ago. Kade hadn’t known about them, but Siri had shared their existence when the group was talking about ways to get out of the apartment.
Only Fabian and Kade accompanied her. Everyone else left as they normally would. They didn’t want others to know about the tunnels in case they were needed later, so an effort was made to make everything appear as normal as possible.
Two of the cars were attacked shortly after they left the apartment, but the onslaughts stopped the moment it was apparent Kelly was not in the vehicles.
Training with Fabian continued every morning, and Kelly spent the afternoons with Ginna, cramming as much information as she could. Kade joined when he could afford the time away from his work. If time permitted, he and Kelly worked on his control of their powers at night.
Kelly had mastered her ability to share things with him at will or shut him off completely. Kade had yet to gain any of those abilities, and it frustrated him no end. Kelly tried everything she could think of to help Kade, but none of her methods worked.
They talked to Ginna about it, and she tried to help, too, but nothing worked.
Just when they were all ready to give up, Siri joined them one night. She talked Kade through the process, suggesting it was similar to the way a vampire controls their power. By the end of that night, he was able to shut his mind from Kelly’s thoughts, a huge win for him. He still couldn’t stop the outgoing messages, but it was a start.
After a week of training and learning all day, every day, Kelly felt completely drained. Her skills with the karambits continued to improve, as did her control over water and the bond between her and Kade. While all of that held promise, she couldn’t shake the frustration around her lack of power over earth and time. Time scared the shit out of her, but she still needed to master it.
Fabian said she needed a day of rest, and Ginna agreed. As much as Kelly didn’t want to, she knew they were right.
Sleeping in that morning was pure heaven, and she silently thanked everyone for making her take the day off. She lay in bed sifting through her thoughts for a while. When she’d had a real job, that’d gotten her into trouble more often than she cared to admit because it always made her late for work. Now, it was nice to be able to relax and process things.
It felt like she was trapped in a time warp, which was ironic. Every day, she trained and studied only to go to bed and do it again the next. She couldn’t leave the house because the city teemed with groups just waiting for her to come out of hiding. Connor and Asta worked to build their following every day, but she felt like they were so far behind their enemies. She hadn’t told anyone—not even Kade—but she knew she would have to make a show of power to gain support. People had to know what she believed in and what she could do, or they wouldn’t follow her.
To solve all that, Kelly planned to start a blog that would somehow only be available to the Arcane community. She wanted to tell them who she was and what she stood for.
Kade, and likely everyone else, would put their feet down. Fabian might even have another cow. How else would they solve this, though? She couldn’t stay trapped in this house for years until it was time for her bonding ceremony. Of course, Fabian would be totally fine with the idea of her being on house arrest because she’d be safe. Kade probably would be, too, but Kelly would slowly go insane. Hell, she already wanted to start counting the days on the wall with a piece of chalk.
Clyde rose from the crook of her knee and came up to greet her with a loud meow. He seemed to feel her turmoil.
“I don’t know how you stay in the house all the time.”
He meowed again in response.
With a sigh, she made herself get up and start the day. She took a quick shower, brushed her hair out and threw it back, and put on her most comfortable sweats before she made her way out to the kitchen.
It was empty for a change, so she rummaged around before finding some English muffins. She popped one in the toaster and browsed her phone while it baked.
Nothing much was new in the human world, as far as she could see. The Arcane world didn’t have a news outlet, so who knew there.
She texted her dad to see how he was doing, then grabbed the butter out of the fridge and found some honey in the pantry.
She jumped and flung butter on the counter as Siri walked in. Even with her improved hearing, the vampire often snuck up on her.
“Good morning, my dear. I do hope you’re enjoying your day off.”
“Morning, Siri. Yes, I am, thank you. I’m glad y’all made me take the day.”
“You deserve it. Have you seen Keegan? I want to speak to the two of you.”
“I haven’t, but I’ll call him in.”
Reaching out to Kade through their link, she relayed the message. He nodded out of habit and let her know he’d be in shortly.
“He’ll be in soon.”
“I will never get used to that. You know, vampires can hear just about everything, but the fact that the two of you can communicate without any sound whatsoever is astonishing to me.”
“I’m still getting used to it. The worst part is when we accidentally talk out loud and it creates a sort of echo.”
“You know, I love my husband to this day, but I never would have wanted to be inside his mind. Men can be ruthless and brash. There is no doubt his thoughts would have sparked numerous arguments.”
Kelly smiled, suddenly nostalgic. “I can understand that. Working in journalism, I’ve seen so many people lose control of their thoughts. They speak without any sort of filter because they’re so eager for someone to hear them. I’ve learned to take it at face value. Kade has already had a moment where his thoughts were harsh, but we talked around it.”
“Don’t let that one moment fool you. There will come a time when my son will make you want to kill him.”
Kelly raised her shoulders in a shrug. “I’m sure there will. Would you like a glass of blood while we wait for him?”
It had taken Kelly four weeks to become comfortable with the fact that vampires drank blood. She was now okay with offering and serving it at meals, and she could even rinse out the glasses without gagging. She guessed it had to do with the fact that she and Kade exchanged it on a regular basis.
“Oh, no. Thank you, though. I had some earlier today.” Silence followed for some time, then Siri added, “I envy you and Kade. The last time I drank from a person was almost a century ago.”
A thought struck Kelly. “There have to be willing humans out there. Why don’t vampires take advantage of them?”
“Fear. Arcane live through fear. The Council is convinced we will be found out if vampires drink from humans on a regular basis. The invention of needles took away any excuse we had to drink directly from the source, then technology continued to improve. If they allowed it now, someone would post a video of a vampire feeding within hours. Imagine what would happen to this world if humans all believed in vampires.”
“Oh, I agree. The general population cannot comprehend the existence of Arcane. But it might be feasible to set up exclusive clubs for trusted humans who can keep a secret.” She dove deep into her mind for a minute. “You know, that’s actually an idea. Clubs where Arcane and humans could coexist in a safe space.”
“You, my dear, are a dreamer.” Siri said with a smile.
Kade came in then. “Good morning, Mother. How are ye?”
“I’m well, Son, thank you. I have some news for you and Kelly. Shall we sit?”
Kade nodded.
Kelly grabbed her butter-slathered English muffin and the honey and went to the table with them.
“I called a friend in Romania to ask her what she thought about this thing between the two of you.”
Kade’s guard went up. “Mum, I ken ye want to help, but we cannae tell people about this.”
She waved him off. “She’s completely trustworthy, I can promise you that. Anyway, she mentioned some old stories about a mage and a vampire, like the ones you all told me about, only she said it wasn’t just a story. She said her great-great-grandfather was paired with a mage and shared powers with her. She made me swear not to tell anyone, said it was a family secret and to tell someone could mean death.”
“Mum, are ye sure she wasnae just bending the truth a bit?”
“Keegan, after all these years, I’d hope you trust me a bit more than that.”
Kade looked down at the table, and Kelly saw the child he’d once been hundreds of years ago.
“I ken ye would confirm yer sources. I just dinnae trust anyone at this point.”
“Your father would be proud, Keegan. You’re smart not to trust anyone, but I do trust her. She’s one of our oldest, and she sees no benefit from lies or drama. I haven’t told you the best part yet, though.” She paused for effect. “She mentioned the blood exchanges before I told her about them. I didn’t even have to bring it up, and she said her grandfather exchanged blood with the mage regularly.”