by Kristi Cook
I nodded. “We can talk. Cece knows everything.”
“Very well.” He leaned forward in his seat, one forearm resting on his thigh. It was a posture that suggested urgency, and my anxiety level ratcheted up a notch in response. “I’m worried about him,” he continued. “He’s not been himself these past few weeks. And now … well, I’m sure I needn’t tell you how atypical his current condition is. For our kind,” he clarified. “Vampires don’t just fall ill.”
“It’s that serum he’s injecting,” I said. “I don’t know what it’s doing to him, but it seems to be getting worse.”
“And yet he feels as if he’s experiencing positive effects from it, as well,” Trevors said with a nod. “I just don’t know what to think.”
I took a sip of my steaming tea, watching Trevors over the rim of the cup. “But what does Luc have to do with any of this?” I asked. “He’s on the Tribunal, right?”
Trevors raised one brow. “He is, indeed. But he’s also a friend of Master Gray’s. Or perhaps I should say they are friendly. To a degree, at least.”
“So I shouldn’t be worried?”
“Not about Luc,” he answered cryptically.
Cece leaned forward, placing her now-empty cup on the coffee table in front of us. “Well, where did they go?” she asked.
Trevors shrugged. “I’m not certain. Paris, perhaps?”
I let out my breath in a rush. “Paris?”
“Paris is the seat of the Tribunal these days.”
“He’s going to the Tribunal?” I groaned. “Why would he do that?”
Trevors sighed heavily. “I wish I had answers for you, Miss McKenna. Truly, I do.”
“You really care about him, don’t you?” I said softly. “More than just a household manager would.”
He smiled wanly in reply. “Of course I do. I assume he’s told you of my debt to him?”
I shook my head. “Not the specifics.”
“Would you care to hear the story?”
Would I ever. There was so much about him I didn’t know; each little tidbit was a piece of the puzzle falling into place. “Of course I would.”
Beside me, Cece nodded enthusiastically.
“Very well.” He leaned back against the chair’s cushions, a more relaxed position than before. “I’d known Master Gray in my mortal life, you see. I was head butler at Asbury House, Lord Tewksbury’s London home in Grosvenor Square. Viscount Brompton’s town house was right across the square; young Aidan was a childhood playmate of Tewksbury’s eldest son. Trust me, the two got into a fair amount of mischief.”
I couldn’t help but smile, imagining it. “I’m not surprised.”
“Anyway”—he waved one hand—“years later, long after Aidan had disappeared, presumed dead, I had the misfortune of crossing paths with a female vampire who had, in her mortal life, suffered at the hands of my employer, Lord Tewksbury.
“Lucinda was the most dangerous sort—a vampire bent on vengeance. I became an unwilling pawn in her plot. She turned me, intending to use me to destroy Tewksbury and everyone he loved.
“When I proved uncooperative, she decided that I simply needed to be persuaded. First she threatened my daughter, a grown woman who was living in London and working as a seamstress. Lucinda killed her immediately—a show of strength. She wasn’t playing around, and she wanted me to know it. My wife had long since passed, a victim of influenza, and the only family I had left was my granddaughter. Camilla was beautiful and smart, off at school, hoping to become a teacher someday. Lucinda gave me an ultimatum—I could join her in her plot, or Camilla would suffer the same fate as her mother.
“By that time,” he continued, “I’d become acquainted with London’s vampire community. I was pleasantly surprised to find Aidan, alive and well. So to speak, of course,” he added. “I turned to him for help; I had no one else. Aidan was very … how shall I put it? Very angry in those days. And he was far stronger than me, given that he was turned as a young man.”
Cece’s eyes were wide. “I can’t believe someone would … well, you know, do this to you, at your age.”
“There are plenty of vampires who were turned at my age, Miss Bradford, though most were willing, attempting to evade death. Who knows”—he shrugged—“years later, had I been facing the same certain fate, I might have chosen this path. One never knows …” He trailed off, a faraway look in his eyes.
“So Aidan helped you?” I prompted.
Trevors nodded. “He saved Camilla and destroyed Lucinda. As punishment, he was sentenced to twenty years of confinement by the Tribunal. When he was released, I pledged my life to him. I will serve him in whatever way necessary, as long as I walk this earth. It’s an excellent arrangement, actually. He needs someone to manage his household, and I enjoy doing so. It’s a comfortable life for me, and I strive to make his equally so.”
“That’s … amazing,” Cece said.
I let out my breath in a rush. “Twenty years? They imprisoned him for twenty years for saving a child’s life?”
“For destroying a vampire,” Trevors corrected.
I shook my head in disbelief. “A murderous vampire! Who was killing people for no reason. I mean, isn’t that against your rules?”
“Lucinda’s punishment would have been far more severe than his, had she succeeded with her plot. Besides, twenty years isn’t so very long to a vampire. In the face of immortality, it’s just a blip in time, really.”
“I guess so,” I said, unconvinced.
In twenty years, I’d be thirty-seven. Would this brief time spent with me seem so inconsequential to Aidan, just a minute blip on his radar?
No. Because Aidan would be long cured by then—mortal again, and close to my own age. He had to be.
“He could have just saved Camilla,” I said. “If he hadn’t destroyed Lucinda, he wouldn’t have been punished. He could have turned her over to the Tribunal instead.”
Trevors regarded me with one raised brow. “He could have, yes. As I said, Aidan was very angry then. He didn’t know who had turned him, and any female vampire in London was suspect, as far as he was concerned. He would have destroyed them all and willingly paid the price, given the opportunity. I knew that when I sought his help.”
“You only wanted to save your granddaughter,” Cece offered. “Anyone would have done the same.”
He acknowledged her kindness with a nod. “My only regret is that I wasn’t able to save my daughter, too.”
“What happened to Camilla?” I asked, hoping the sacrifice had been worth the price.
His mouth curved into a smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling with obvious delight. “I’m pleased to say that she went on to live a very long, very happy life. She became a teacher, married, and had five children. Some of her descendants live here in New York today, though most of the family remains in Britain. I keep close tabs on them all, each and every one of them,” he added, his voice filled with pride.
“That is so cool,” Cece said. “Being able to see all those generations, I mean.”
“Indeed, though I’m also forced to witness them age and eventually die. It’s all part and parcel of this curse.”
I leaned forward in my seat, curious. “Say Aidan does perfect the cure. Will you take it?”
“Would you think me a foolish old man if I said I wasn’t certain? I’ve had nothing but time to ponder the question, and yet I cannot say what my answer will be when that day comes. And it will come, Miss McKenna. For Aidan’s sake, we must have faith. In all these years, I’ve never seen him so determined.”
I just nodded, unable to reply. My emotions were too raw, too unsettled. I wanted to believe that I was the reason for Aidan’s newfound determination.
And yet … the responsibility weighed heavily on my mind. Was his single-minded, desperate pursuit of the cure causing him to act carelessly? Had he grown too hasty, hoping to beat the clock because of me?
He would deny it, of course. He was obstinate—and brilliant, I remi
nded myself.
Beside me, Cece cleared her throat. “We should probably get going,” she said, glancing at her watch.
Looking down at my own, I grimaced. “Patsy’s going to be home soon.” I stood, setting my empty cup on the table. “Thanks, Trevors. For the tea and the talk. I really appreciate it.”
He nodded. “Of course, Miss McKenna.”
“If I leave you my cell number, will you call me if you hear from him? In case, you know … I don’t hear from him first?” I hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but I was starting to realize that there was still an awful lot about Aidan I didn’t know. I understood why he kept some of his history from me—he wanted me to know him as he was now, as the boy he would be when he was cured. I got that. Really, I did. But to fully understand him, I had to understand his past. It was a part of him, no matter how strenuously he denied it. Shielding me from it served no purpose, as far as I could tell.
Trevors rose, leading us out toward the foyer. “I’m sure he’ll contact you as soon as he’s able,” he assured me. “But yes, of course.” He gestured toward a pad of paper and pen on the console opposite the front door.
“Thanks,” I said, scribbling my name and number.
Trevors turned toward Cece and extended one hand. “It was very good to make your acquaintance, Miss Bradford. I hope we’ll meet again soon.”
Cece beamed at him as she shook his hand. “I hope so too.”
It was only when he reached out to take my hand that I remembered he was supposed to be the enemy—at least, the Sâbbat part of me thought he was, if the way my body recoiled was any indication. My urges had calmed while we had sat talking, but now they were back in full force.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, forcing myself to suppress the shudder that snaked down my spine as I gripped his cold hand in mine.
“It’s entirely understandable,” he answered with a smile. “I appreciate your restraint.”
Restraint. I supposed that was the right word. Because at present, every cell in my body was screaming in alarm. My fingers were itching for my stake, desperate to use it.
Instead, I was shaking the vampire’s hand and leaving him my number.
Trevors’s gaze met mine, questioning. “It’s fascinating, really. I’ve never before met one of your kind. Sâbbat.”
“Yeah, me either,” I answered with a shrug. I didn’t know how, but someday—somewhere—I would find those other girls like me.
And when I did … well, I had no idea what I’d do once I found them. I only knew that I somehow must.
For now, that would have to be enough.
17 ~ Under Where?
Aidan reached for my hand, bringing it up to his lips. “I’m sorry, Vi. I just didn’t want—”
“Me to worry. Yeah, I know. It’s still no excuse.” I snatched my hand away as I slid into a seat at our usual lunch table. “You should have at least called and told me you were going away.”
He ducked his head, looking somewhat sheepish as he slid into the seat beside me. “But then I would’ve had to tell you where I was going. You would have worried yourself sick, when you had the tournament—”
“That you were supposed to come to. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
“Okay, okay.” He held up his hands in surrender. “So I’m an idiot. A complete moron.”
“Keep going,” I prodded, waving one hand in a circular motion.
“A … jerk? Help me out here, I’m running out of appropriate insults.” His jaw was set, but his eyes were smiling.
“Hey,” a voice called out, and I looked up to find Tyler standing across the table from us as the lunch crowd shuffled in around him. “I think I might have left a pair of boxers over at Patsy’s this weekend. Let me know if she finds ’em, okay? I liked that pair. Worn and comfy, you know?”
I winced, feeling Aidan tense beside me. “What?” was all he said. Rather restrained, actually. I had to give him credit.
Tyler was grinning now. “Yeah, when you were a no-show on Friday, Violet asked me over for the weekend. Didn’t she tell you?”
I let out a sigh. “Cece and Sophie were there too. Oops, you left that part out, didn’t you, Ty?”
“Hmm, I guess I did. Sorry ’bout that.” He nodded in Aidan’s direction. “Guess I should be grateful that you’re just a mind reader and not something more dangerous, huh?”
There was something in his tone that made my heart skip a beat. Had he somehow figured it out? Or was I just paranoid?
Don’t react, Aidan said inside my head. Just ignore it.
“I should go get some food,” I muttered, rising on shaky legs.
When I returned to the table five minutes later, everyone was there. Well, everyone except Joshua, who still sat with the other shifters at meals, and Jack, who had always eaten with the football team anyway.
Max had joined our little group. He and Marissa sat at the end of the table, in shouting distance to Max’s bandmates, who now occupied the next table over.
Kate and Cece were there, sitting as far away from each other as the rectangular-shaped table allowed, with poor Sophie stuck somewhere in the middle, playing the role of neutral party.
“So, what’d you guys do this weekend?” Kate was asking Sophie as I slipped back into my seat beside Aidan.
Sophie shrugged. “You know, just hung out. It mostly rained.”
Which was true. We’d stayed in, watching movies for the most part. I assumed that she didn’t know that Tyler had ended up spending the weekend with us. I had no idea how well that would go over. Didn’t want to find out, really.
“It was pretty quiet here,” Kate said. “Luckily these two let me hang with them.” She hooked her thumb toward Marissa and Max, who were deep in conversation—about the merits of Linkin Park’s newest album, it would seem.
Since when did Marissa like Linkin Park?
I turned toward Aidan, who was sitting quietly beside me. “You’re not hungry?”
“Not really.” He shook his head. “I think I might head over to the lab.”
Weird, because the new serum had increased his appetite for actual food, along with other more humanlike traits. Maybe it was starting to wear off or something.
“Sure, whatever,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. You’ve still got a heck of a lot of explaining to do, I added silently.
He smiled. “We’ll talk after sixth period, okay?”
As soon as Aidan vacated his seat, Tyler was there, holding a tray cluttered with food. “You leaving?” he called out to Aidan’s back. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he said when Aidan continued on without looking back. With a clatter, he set his tray down and slipped into the seat beside me.
He was seemingly oblivious to the tension that crackled around him now. Cece was visibly ruffling; Kate lowered her gaze, her cheeks flushing pink.
“Uh, Marissa,” I muttered, looking at her entreatingly. “Could you maybe help us out here?”
Mercifully, she did.
Aidan and I were walking over to the chapel after sixth period when I stumbled, my vision tunneling as everything went dark.
Patsy was standing on a golf course. Everything was green, which meant it wasn’t late fall in New York. But then I noticed the palm trees swaying in the breeze behind her. She was somewhere tropical. It could be any season, I reasoned. She stepped up to a tee, bending down to place her pink ball atop it. As she straightened, her body jerked. I heard her gasp as she swatted at her right arm.
“Hey, you okay?” an unfamiliar man called out. He had an accent—Australian, maybe? I’d never seen him before. He was tall, with short brown hair and blue eyes. Good-looking, I guess, in an unremarkable way.
“I need my EpiPen,” Patsy replied, hurrying over to the golf cart. There was a tone of urgency in her voice. She was deathly allergic to bees—she never went anywhere without an EpiPen. I saw her digging around in her bag, saw her movements become more and more frantic. “Damn it, where is it? Oh God, no. I switche
d bags last night. …” Her eyes grew wide with panic. Her lips had already begun to swell; red rings circled her eyes. “Call 911,” she choked out, reaching for one of the cart’s roof supports to steady herself.
And then it was over. I was sitting on the curb, cradled in Aidan’s arms. “Hey, you okay?” he crooned.
I shook my head. “This one was bad. Patsy. A bee sting,” was all I managed.
“She’s allergic?”
“Yep, goes into anaphylactic shock. Carries an EpiPen. She was on a golf course somewhere, on a trip, I think. But she didn’t have it with her.” I closed my eyes, taking a deep, calming breath. “The EpiPen, I mean.”
Aidan kissed my temple. “It’s okay. You can work with this.”
I swallowed hard. “I guess. She’s never going to listen—never going to believe me.”
“Just make sure she’s got an EpiPen,” he offered.
“It’s not like I can follow her around twenty-four seven. What am I supposed to do? She doesn’t always tell me when she’s going away. God, she could be in Hawaii or somewhere like that right now, for all I know.” My head was spinning.
What if … what if the bee sting killed her? What if I’d just witnessed her death, just like I’d seen my dad’s? Panic made my heart race, my palms dampen.
“Look, Vi, you just saw her this weekend,” Aidan reasoned. “She probably would have mentioned a trip, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I guess,” I conceded. “I’m going to have to work on replaying this one. I have to see what’s going to happen. To make sure … you know, that she’s going to be okay. With no EpiPen, if she doesn’t get to a hospital right away, it’ll be too late.”
Aidan nodded, apparently understanding the gravity of the situation. “Do you want me to call Dr. Byrne now?”
“No, you’re right—she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. It can wait till Saturday. I hope,” I added. “Here, help me up.”
He stood, reaching for my arm and pulling me to my feet. “Want me to walk you back to the dorms?”
“No, I’m good. What, did you think you were going to get off that easy?”
