“Yeah, why not. You mean that blond boy is your brother?”
“Well, half-brother, but he’s pretty cool,” I replied with a smile.
We began walking toward Shawn’s room. I was honestly scared of how my brother would take Wesley and me standing at his door together. I was certain he would not have warm and fuzzy feelings. He would most certainly know something was wrong.
“Let me guess you share a dad.”
“Yeah. What made you think that?” I raised an eyebrow at him as I reached up and knocked three times on Shawn’s door.
“He creeps me out, almost as much as your father,” he answered as Shawn opened the door and stared at us.
“No, I will not do that,” he said, looking at Wesley and frowning. “That’s my sister, you are thinking about.”
“Ignore him,” I requested, as Shawn’s eyes cleared and looked at me.
“What’s up, sis?” he asked, running his fingers through his blond hair.
“It seems we may be compromised. Miranda knows the location of the house. Mom wants lieutenants on alert. This means I need you and Minerva to pass around the news to the troops. I mean, I could do it, but I have a feeling I would do it all wrong,” I stated, wringing my fingers together.
“Let me guess. He has something to do with it.” Shawn’s voice wasn’t too enthusiastic, he was reacting just as I had predicted. This meant Wesley was not going to make friends easily there.
“Well, it was an issue from three years ago that resurfaced,” I replied, glancing at Wesley. The desire to smack him had passed. He really was trying to be helpful. I had to accept the fact he was there. I had to be ready to defend him at all costs, no matter where my feelings were rooted.
He looked at Wesley and grumbled. “Seriously, man, you thought the girl would - oh, never mind.” He shook his head.
“I was sixteen,” Wesley replied defensively.
“Yeah, it’s cool, I will tell Minerva and Kelly. They will give everyone the heads up. I’m sure your mom is already moving those not fighting to the lower levels of the barn in hopes of keeping them safe.” Shawn glanced at Wesley one more time. “You two should get some rest. I’m sure we will need both of you if this thing goes south overnight.”
“Have you seen Marshall?” I asked as Shawn began to shut his door.
“He’s been with Kelly since after drills. You know shifters,” he replied as he latched the door.
“I’m sure I will find him soon,” I stated, turning toward the stairs, and heading in that direction.
“What is it with you and Marshall?” Wesley asked as my right foot hit the first step.
“Nothing is up with Marshall and me. I took a liking to the guy when I was at the camp. He was the only one I felt I could be myself with,” I answered, the desire to smack him slowly returning.
“You know that blonde-hair-blue-eye thing was pretty hot,” Wesley said, and I turned around and looked at him. The height of the stairs put me at eye level.
“Why are you trying so hard? You are the one who called me codependent,” I accused.
“Well, it sure looked that way. However, since we have been here, you haven’t given a single guy a second look. Well, except Adam. What is up with that? You two are like two peas in a pod,” he said, ignoring the expression on my face.
“Adam is complicated, to be honest. Wesley, you do realize if we make the wrong move, I could kill you, right?” I asked, remembering the blood fire and vampire thing.
“There is a chance, but the vampire blood in me is minuet compared to the others. They said because of my heartbeat, I still have my soul intact. Hence why I was able to sign it over to Krista,” he said, reaching up and touching my face.
I closed my eyes to the familiarity of it. Oh, how I had missed his touch. He still had a way of making my heart flutter.
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!
I fought it bravely, finding it was easier to resist the urge to allow him to touch me.
“Seriously, he’s not even back for two days, and the two of you are already back together.” I heard Adam’s voice from the top of the stairs, and my eyes shot open. I looked up at him. His face was twisted, his eyes angry.
“No,” I stammered, pushing Wesley’s hand off my face. His expression made my heartache. I took off up the stairs and followed Adam toward Rose’s room. “Adam, wait.”
He turned and looked at me. I had never seen so much pain and anger in Adam’s eyes. It tore through me like a serrated blade on a dull bread knife.
“You know, I knew this would happen. The whole point was to get him back, and I knew that. Yet I still wished. I still hoped.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“You have Rose!” I interjected.
“And now you have Wesley back. Man, it was one thing knowing Aaron was with you. It’s quite another knowing he is now too. It was probably a good thing your brother made me forget. I actually thought we had something at one time.” He reached for the doorknob. “Rose knows, you know. She’s known since she met me, but she didn’t say anything because in her mind she won.”
“Adam, please,” I begged.
He just stared at me with those deep brown eyes. I wanted to cry. The only thing I wished for was my best friend back.
“Your mom said you needed to talk to Rose.” He opened the door just as her redhead poked out and looked at us. By this point, Wesley had already made his way up behind me.
“Yeah, what’s going on?” she asked politely.
I was taken aback. I admit I had become used to the girl she was when she got to the manor. That conniving, evil bitch was hellbent on tearing me apart somehow. Now here she stood without a single ounce of anger on her face.
Wesley took it upon himself to relay the message. She stared at him, lost in the conversation, nodding the whole time.
“You know, it’s not your fault. You didn’t know any better,” she expressed, smiling as she reached out and took Adam’s hand in hers. Instant jealousy sprang through me, and I took a step backward.
“Thank you,” he said to her, grateful someone didn’t blame him for the inevitable attack.
“I will let my lieutenants know. By the way, happy early birthday to you two,” she said sweetly.
“Thank you,” I stammered.
“Well, we are family now, Dawn. I mean really, sisters. I’m sorry for treating you any other way.” I had no idea if she was messing with me or if she was sincere.
“Yeah, sisters. Again, thank you,” I said quietly, glancing again at her and Adam’s hands.
“Yes, thank you. I’ve been trying to explain the importance of birthdays to Dawn here, but she’s stubborn.” Wesley nudged me and then put his arm around my waist.
The mixed signals were confusing me. I loved Wesley, yes. He made the darkness in me squeal with glee. He also made my hands clammy, my knees weak, and he clouded my thoughts. Yet, for some reason, I still felt strongly for Adam. He made me feel light and free. I never felt bad when I was with him. It felt too right.
What the hell am I thinking? I’m not going to be with anyone damn it — no circle of men for me.
“I need to tell Krista. You guys have fun,” I said, turning away from Wesley. I descended the stairs to the suite on the first floor.
I knew she was sleeping, but that didn’t matter. I knocked loudly on the door until the groggy girl appeared, her eyes caked with sleep.
I explained everything to her, with Wesley standing right there to tell his part. I was already tired of the story. How petty of him to bring that woman into my house when we weren’t there.
“I will let Helen know,” Krista said, yawning.
“You sure?” I asked softly.
“Yeah. Since they hauled Nick off, she hasn’t left me. She’s asleep on the couch in here.” Krista yawned again. “I will let my guys know, and I will make sure she does the same.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I replied softly, returning to my room directly above hers. I heard
laughter coming from the bedroom adjacent to mine.
“Looks like Marshall has made a new friend,” Wesley laughed, pointing toward the door at the end of the hall. I could hear a girl laughing as well. I knew he was with Kelly. This was going to suck. I knocked lightly on his door and waited for him to answer.
“Can I see you two in my room please,” I requested, peeking in, and seeing Kelly indian-style on his bed.
“Yeah.” He nodded to her, and she jumped down, following me into my room.
I hesitated over letting Wesley in, but since we were the only four that knew what had happened, I felt it was best to keep him involved. I waited until everyone took a seat around the room before speaking.
“Apparently, Miranda knows where we are,” I repeated for the umpteenth time it felt.
“How?” Marshall asked. “She doesn’t have Wesley anymore.”
“Yeah, well, three years ago, she took his soul in my entryway,” I growled at Wesley, and he shrugged.
“You didn’t know each other three years ago, so it’s really not his fault,” Marshall said and gave Wesley a reassuring smile. I was not happy with the fact my new friend was giving my ex the benefit of the doubt. I wanted someone to be angry with me. I didn’t want to keep feeling like I had the wrong emotions about the situation.
“What you are saying is she’s coming,” Kelly broke in. The excitement that had been on her face initially was fading to misery. “I better get outside. I’m sure there are going to be questions.”
“I have Shawn and Minerva on it too,” I said to her as she started to fidget.
“When should we be expecting her arrival?”
“No clue. Wesley says she will wait for a bit. Dad says she’s going to go on a killing spree to get even.” I shrugged. “I personally wouldn’t be surprised if I didn’t wake up in the morning to her standing over my bed. Since she knows the stupid floor plan.”
“Is your dad getting the Blessed Ones to increase the barriers?” Kelly asked. I knew she was trying to get as much information as she could about the situation. She was right, there was going to be questions, and she needed to be prepared with the answers. People don’t want to be met with an explanation of – I don’t know.
“Yes, he was leaving to do that at the end of our meeting,” I said, and she calmed. “What about Jonas?”
“The boy from this afternoon?” I asked softly.
“His parents are still mourning; we can’t take that away from them,” she stated, pulling on the bottom of her shirt.
“No. I’m sure mom has a plan,” I replied. Truth be told, I didn’t know. The day had gone from murder and court-martialed to that of attack and misery. I had only thought of the young man’s parents for a split moment. Kelly was right; we shouldn’t take their mourning away from them.
“All right, what do we do?” Marshall questioned. He had never been on this side of the line before. I was certain he wanted to help, but he had no idea how to do it.
“I’m going to get some rest. I would suggest the same for everyone,” I groaned. “If we aren’t rested, we won’t be at the top of our game.”
“You going to do that thing you did today?” Kelly said, raising an eyebrow.
“What thing?” I asked, confused. I had done a lot of things that day.
“For the vampires,” she stated with a wink.
“Oh, that, yes. First thing in the morning, I will have Wesley and Marshall bring me a couple of barrels of water,” I said. “They already know about it.”
“I forgot they were with you when you were gone,” Kelly laughed. “All right, I’m going to head back out to the barn and start getting people ready.”
I didn’t like the fact we had to prepare anyone for battle. If I could have ended the war without a single drop of blood spilled, everything would have been fine. However, that is not how it worked.
“I’m going to try thinking tactically,” I stated softly. “I will be out there in a bit.”
“It will put them at ease to see you,” Kelly said, getting up to leave the room.
I waited till she was gone before dropping the act. I was crumbling inside. I had no clue what I was doing, or even what needed to be done. All I knew was things were not as they seemed. I had accepted my bloodline and all the responsibilities it came with. Still, it didn’t help I was clueless on what to do next.
“What am I going to do?” I asked, rubbing my temples. I took a seat on Marshall’s bed and stared at the floor.
“You are going to channel your inner priestess and figure out what she would have done,” Wesley suggested, sitting down behind me and putting his hands on my shoulders. I felt the tension releasing as he rubbed them.
“Yeah, Miss Prudence was a genius.” Marshall winked at me.
“If she was such a genius, none of this would have happened,” I grumbled.
“So what, you two fell in love. Sometimes you cannot control what the heart wants,” Marshall said, patting me on the knee.
“See, he understands,” Wesley murmured, rubbing my muscles deeper. My head dropped forward, and I had to fight the urge to drool.
“Of course, I do,” Marshall laughed. “I will help you the best I can.”
“Thank you, Marshall. I knew I could count on you,
” I said to the boy.
“It’s going to be weird,” he uttered softly.
“What is?” I asked as I closed my eyes and enjoyed the soothing muscle massage.
“Being on this side. Going against those people who I knew,” Marshall sighed. “I suppose there is a first time for anything.”
“Try not to concern yourself with who you will be facing,” I suggested.
“You know, if she attacks in the night, it might be best to get the vamps hydrated. If it’s hard for them to fight now, imagine how it’s going to be if they are hungry,” Marshall stated.
I closed my eyes and sighed. The boy was right.
“All right, you two get me six barrels of water and a bag of cups. Let’s get this over with.” I pushed myself to the end of the bed and let out one last heave. So much for being rested.
Chapter Ten
Preparations
“All right.” I clapped my hands together as the hungry vampires looked at me with apprehension. They had noticed the water delivered and looked at it, confused.
“You do realize that isn’t going to do anything for us,” one of the wind-vamps said, his face contorted oddly as he looked inside the water barrel.
“Dude, just hush. Trust her,” Paul grumbled, coming up to the front of the room with his head held high. “If it wasn’t for her, I would have smoked today.”
“Thank you,” I replied gratefully as Wesley started setting up plastic solo cups on the table in the corner. I had reserved the back entertainment room as soon as I had produced the plan.
Marshall smiled as I placed my hands around the barrel and closed my eyes. I knew I could get four barrels out with little to no problem. However, turning six could turn out to be slightly problematic. I had to do it; they were counting on me.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please do not rush the Warden once she has completed her work,” Marshall requested. I could hear the fear of being caught in a stampede in his voice.
I stifled a laugh and went back to concentrating. I heard gasps and cries throughout the room as six of the barrels changed. I looked around, perplexed, till I saw my mother standing in the doorway. She flashed me a smile and motioned for me to exit the room before the ravenous vampires attacked.
“My children, please remain calm. We will get everyone fed in time, do not worry.” I heard Edmund say as I left the room to stand across from my mother.
“How do you think I was feeding them before you came into your power? The only thing is I did it a bit differently.” She nodded at the barrels. “That gives them something to fight over. I individually portioned out what they needed. Instead of using tap water, I tend to use the rain barrels if they are full.
If they aren’t, it only takes one call to Krista, and we fill them.”
“You had a whole blood production company, and I didn’t even know it.” I shook my head. “I thought it was Rose that had the water-to-blood gift.”
“She could do it; I mean the girl does blood rain. People weren’t too happy when she did that, though. She’s been trying to tap into her mother’s gifts, but, well, Mona had some hard ones to come by.” My mother laughed to herself. “Let Edmund take it from here. You have proven yourself.”
I went to leave when I heard a throat clear behind me. I turned, and Edmund was staring at me with a knowing look on his face. He reached down and grasped my cheeks, planting the most delicate of kisses on my lips. I nearly passed out at the intensity of it. I have never denied my attraction to Edmund’s aura. He had accumulated a considerable sum of power during his lifetime, and it attracted me like a fly to honey. Still, his kiss sent me reeling. I had no clue what was happening.
“You,” he winked. “I have been waiting for you to return.”
“Yeah,” I replied breathlessly.
He smiled at me, let my face go, and returned to the room. I watched him as he kept peace amongst the hungry vampires. I still had no clue why he had done what he did, but I was starting to get a feeling it had to do with Prudence.
“What was that all about?” my mother asked, grabbing me by the arm and twisting me around to face her.
“Do what?” I looked at her, dreamy-eyed until the spell wore off. “Long story.”
“You are already starting to sound like Shawn,” my mother groaned as she led me away from the room and further into the barn house. “Has he told you the story of him, a girl, and a rooster? It’s quite interesting.”
“I do not follow,” I uttered, scrunching my eyebrows together and looking at her.
“Of course not.” She shook her head and stepped out of earshot of anyone else. “Listen, your father and I know what is going on around here. We know you and Wesley have started to spend more time together.” She sounded nervous about this conversation.
“It’s been a day,” I moaned, my throat getting dry. How could they already be jumping to conclusions about Wesley and me? Seriously, what was up with everyone thinking we were instantly back together?
Fizzle Page 10
