Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
“I’VE CAUGHT HIS SCENT HERE and there, but it’s days old,” Anna says as we make our final loop around the House. “I don’t think he’s been back to the House since you heard him the night of your party.”
“You’ve found no traces of him around town?” I ask as we walk up the steps and into the house.
Anna shakes her head. “Not yet. The new security cameras are high speed, but they still might not get a clear shot of him, but it will be something. And the UV motion lights will go off with any movement at all.”
I nod, feeling frustrated we still have not made any headway in the last week in finding this spy. I have faith in Anna, but I expected she’d produce results within days. I remind myself to be patient. “Thank you,” I offer.
We step inside the foyer and Anna pauses. “I wanted to ask you something but if you don’t want to talk about it, just tell me it’s none of my business.”
“Okay.”
“Jasmine was telling you the truth about the King wanting to know right away if you’re his Queen or not,” she says.
She takes a seat on one of the stairs. She rests her forearms on her knees.
Between her fingers she twirls a narrow silver shaft.
I have no idea what it is, but in the hands of Anna, I’m sure it’s deadly.
“Do you really want to leave it in his hands to kill you on his terms?”
I ponder her question for just a moment. “Yet if I choose to end my life now, isn’t that kind of on his terms too, because his coming is forcing my hand? It’s all about choice. It’s all just a matter of when, however you look at it.”
Anna thinks this over for a bit before she finally nods. “You’re a smart woman, Alivia. The way your mind works, it’s unexpected.”
I’m not sure what to say to her compliment. “Thank you.”
“And you have this air of humility about yourself, but there’s something about it that reminds me of sheep skin. There’s a vicious wolf underneath it.” Anna studies me with those dark eyes of hers, a small smile tugging on her face. “I will admit, I’m glad I’m not on Jasmine’s side in this war.”
Lillian walks into the foyer, skin-tight, black leather pants hugging her thin legs, a long jacket hiding her white button up shirt.
“The new playground equipment was installed this afternoon at the elementary school,” Lillian says as she stands there, proper and tall. In many ways, she reminds me of Rath. “The donation plaque was also set up. The school sent this for you.”
Lillian hands over an envelope with my name written on it in shaky handwriting.
The card is simple, cardstock folded in half. A picture of five stick children holding hands under a sun decorates the front. Inside are the words THANK YOU and the names of dozens of children all around it.
“Thank you for arranging that,” I say. My stomach rumbles and I start making my way to the kitchen. Lillian and Anna both follow me. “Is anyone else starving? I’m starving.”
“If you’re making cinnamon rolls again, I’m certainly starving,” Anna says with a smile.
And I realize, for the first time in a very long time, I have girl friends.
“You got it,” I tell her with a wink.
Katina has gone for the day since it’s eight o’clock, so I have the run of her kitchen to myself. Things are going to have to change soon. She’s still working a regular day schedule, but everyone in this house is now on a graveyard one.
I’ve just finished pulling all the ingredients I need out when the cell phone in my back pocket dings with a text message. I pull it out to find it’s from Ian.
Sorry I haven’t called back. Family needs me.
And that’s all he offers.
“Ian?” Lillian guesses.
I look up at her and realize how much my expression has fallen. “Yeah,” I confirm as I set the phone on the counter for them to both read.
“It is respectable that he’s stepped up and taken care of his family like he has,” Anna says as she slides it back. I just look at it laying there. “It’s a big undertaking.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s easy to have him gone,” Lillian observes. I realize she’s been watching my face this whole time.
I nod, biting the inside of my lip. I understand, I text back. I tuck my phone back into my pocket and set to measuring out my ingredients.
“What’s on your mind, Alivia?” Lillian asks gently. “I can tell you’re upset.”
I don’t answer her right away. I’m not sure exactly how I’m feeling or anything right now.
“I know he has a family to take care of,” I say without looking up from my work. “I know that. They were always his biggest priority before he died. He was supporting them both and I’m stupid to have forgotten that. He spent every waking moment worrying if they were protected enough or not.”
I mix my dry ingredients together, using too much force and sending a cloud of powder up into the air.
“And I know he never wanted to be a vampire,” I continue without looking up at either Anna or Lillian.
I just pretend I’m talking to myself. “And I’ve known for a long while that I was going to be one someday.
And we knew we had an expiration. But now…
everything is different now. And I feel like all our problems should be solved.
But things are just… They’re not how they should be. ”
I push my hair out of my face and set to cracking eggs into a bowl. “Everything is different now.”
And with every word I speak, I feel a rock sinking heavier and heavier in my stomach.
Because it’s true.
I’ve felt Ian change, and not just in the way of turning into a vampire. He’s not his cocky, self-assured self any more. He’s holding something back, and it’s a big part.
I’m different too. I feel myself changing every day.
And I fear we’re changing in different directions.
These women, who I was once afraid of, who were allies with the enemy I hid from for weeks, they’re here for me. Lillian leans across the counter and grabs my wrist gently in support.
“Most men are complete idiots,” Anna offers. “No surprise Ian is no different.”
And a laugh is exactly what I needed. Even if it’s a shallow one. “Yeah, I guess I kind of forgot that,” I chuckle. I sniff, getting my emotions back under control. Time for a shift in the topic or I’ll drive myself crazy. “Get this: Ian is a virgin.”
“Are you serious?” Lillian says with more shock than I expect.
I nod. “Yeah,” I chuckle. “He’s twenty-four and he’s never slept with anyone.”
“Oh hell,” Anna breathes. “You’re doomed then. Don’t kick me out for saying it, but Ian is hot, and knowing that…well. That makes him kind of irresistible.”
“Hey, back off,” I threaten her, brandishing my spatula in her direction. “We may have problems, but he’s still mine.”
Anna laughs and holds her hands up in surrender. “He’s all yours. I’ve had enough of my own man problems.”
And I’m about to ask her what the deal is with her and the Kask brothers when one of them walks into the kitchen.
“What is this, girls night?” Samuel asks with that cocky smile of his.
In behind him walks a tall, thin man. He seems unsure, but not exactly nervous. His hair is not quite red, not quite blond, his eyebrows the same color. His skin is pale, and it’s easy to tell this is a man who’s never tanned and always burned in the sun. He almost looks like he could be albino.
But it’s his incredibly light blue eyes that are completely captivating.
I can’t say he’s a beautiful man, but he is intriguing to look at.
“Hi,” I greet the stranger, ignoring Samuel’s comment.
“Hello,” he says with a little nod. His accent is British.
“Everyone, this is Dr. Nial Jarvis,” Samuel says as he leans on the counter.
“He’s a doctor from Montgomery who’s suddenly become very interested in a position at Hipsbro County Hospital when he learned about a House full of other Born.
I found an old contact of mine, asked if he’d join.
He had no interest, but he’d heard of a doctor in Montgomery that only ever worked night shifts. ”
Nial looks around at all of us, studying. There’s hesitance in his eyes, but also the slightest bit of wonder. “She’s not one of us,” he says, indicating me.
“Not yet,” I answer. “But it won’t be long.”
He nods and I can almost see the gears turning in his head. He seems a bit overwhelmed. “But you two are?”
“We’re both Born, yes,” Lillian says. Anna studies him closely, and I know I couldn’t have chosen a better woman to be my General.
“Can you tell us about yourself?” I ask. I gesture toward the dining table off the side of the kitchen, the cinnamon rolls momentarily forgotten. Our entire group shifts to it, taking seats. “By the way, I’m Alivia, this is Lillian, Anna, and you’ve already met Samuel.”
“Yes,” he says with a nod. He folds his hands on the table. All of his movements are very controlled and almost pained looking. “I, um…” he takes a hard swallow. “Thank you for having me in your home.”
I didn’t tell him the House was mine, but he knows.
“I’m happy to have you here,” I say with a small smile.
Nial nods. “Right. About myself. I came from England, Cornwall, about seven years ago as I finished medical school. I was offered a position in Richmond. I’m an emergency medical physician.
” His voice shakes just slightly. And he can’t seem to keep from staring at us all.
“About two years ago, when there was that freak ice storm, I ran out to help bring in a stretcher, when I slipped on the ice. I fell back. Hit the base of my head, top of my spine, on a ledge. Snapped my neck, severed everything, immediately.”
Such a simple little mistake. A trip. A fall.
And then dead.
“I woke up four days later in a morgue,” he says. His voice cracks just slightly. “It was freezing and dark. It was terrifying.”
I reach across the table and take his hand in mine.
He clears his throat. “I uh…I got my way out. But the examiner, she was there. And I was so…so very thirsty.”
“It’s okay,” Lillian says. “We all did it.”
Nial bites the inside of his lip and nods.
“I couldn’t stop, didn’t really even realize what I was doing.
But when I came to my senses, I bolted. I was sure my death would be on file, recorded already, so I didn’t dare try going back to England.
I ended up in Montgomery. Got a job. And then Samuel here tells me I’m not the only one. ”
“You thought you were the only one of your kind?” I ask him gently.
Nial nods. “You hear the stories, but I never imagined they were true. I thought I was a zombie. I just kept waiting to crave human brain tissue.”
He suddenly breaks out with an awkward sounding chuckle, and soon we are all laughing along with him. “You’re not the only one,” Lillian offers. “That was my thought too.”
“You didn’t know what you were either?” Nial asks her with a smile.
“No,” she shakes her head. “Woke up, just like you, in a morgue.”
Nial leans back in his chair with a relieved sigh. He shakes his head. “I have to say, it’s such a relief, after two years, to know I’m not alone.”
“You’re not,” I say, giving him a smile. “You are among friends here. Family. And I hope you will stay with us. We all live here, and you’re invited to as well.”
“Really?” he asks in surprise. He looks around at all the others. They nod in confirmation. “That’s very generous of you. I…it feels like too much.”
“Really,” I assure him. “It’s not. There’s plenty of space. And in reality, each of us is a bit of an orphan. We are all each other have. Please, stay with us.”
Emotion swims in his eyes, and I didn’t know a vampire could cry until I see it there. “Thank you,” he says in a breathy voice. “After so long in solitude, I am just so grateful and relieved.”
“Come,” I say as I stand. Everyone else does as well. When they all start to follow us out of the kitchen, I discreetly hold up a hand to tell them to stay.
“Your home is very beautiful,” Nial says as he looks at the splendor of it all. “May I ask how one so young came to have so much?”
“I inherited it from my father,” I say. “You have a lot to learn, but I think you should get settled in first?”
“Of course,” he says with a nod.
We walk to the bedroom on the far end of the hall, the one I once fed Samuel in. I open the door, showing him the bedroom. This one is in all blue and grays. Like the rest of the house, it is extreme classic and modern. “This bedroom is yours, if you want it. For as long as you like.”
Nial looks around. He’s a doctor and I assume has plenty of his own money. But the look on his face is childlike. As if this is Christmas and the greatest gift he could have been given was someone to accept him.
He turns back to face me, his eyes dancing. “Thank you. I’d like to live here with you all. Very much.”
“You are very welcome,” I say with a smile. I can’t help but reciprocate his joy. “Welcome to the House of Conrath.”