by ID Johnson
Elliott’s face was ashen, his eyes doubled in size. “Oh, my God!” he whispered. “Is Cass… a Vampire?”
“No,” Cadence interjected quickly.
“Jamie was able to save her, sort of,” Cale spoke up, his hand resting on Cadence’s arm.
“What do you mean sort of?” Elliott asked, the color still evading his face.
With another deep breath, Cadence continued. “Jamie started the Transformation process, and Cassidy only took on a few characteristics of a Vampire.”
Nearly tipping the chair over, Elliott leaned back abruptly. “A few? Like what? What the hell, Cadence?”
“I know you’re upset. We are all upset, but she’s really okay. She’s mostly her old self. She has one gray eye…”
“One gray eye?” he interrupted. “Seriously?”
“Yes, but the other one is normal. And she doesn’t drink blood or anything. She hardly ever even has fangs.”
“Seriously? You have got to be joking.” He ran his hand through his hair so tensely several strands came out in his grasp.
“Elliott, she’s fine. I promise. And she’s going to be so happy to see you.” Cadence leaned forward so she could put her hand on his arm. “She’s actually going to be able to help us out quite a bit. She can hear what they are thinking now.”
“Oh, well, that’s just fabulous,” Elliott replied, sarcasm dripping from each word. “Hell, let’s create a whole legion of these hybrid Hunter-Vampire creatures and use them to defeat the bloodsuckers once and for all.”
“As upset as you are, it really doesn’t make a difference now,” Cale said, his calm voice attempting to speak reason. “There’s nothing we can do to change the past.”
“That’s what I used to think, too,” Elliott replied, leaning forward again, “until I awoke from death.”
“I don’t think there’s anything we can do to change this,” Cadence agreed, although she wasn’t sure now. She wasn’t sure of anything. “Jamie is looking into it though.”
“If anyone could find a way to change it, Jamie can,” Cale nodded.
“Yeah, well, regardless of how Cassidy is adjusting to her new life, I want to meet the bastard that let her talk him into taking her to Philly in the first place. What kind of an idiot would let a sixteen-year-old girl convince him into walking into such a dangerous situation? He’s going to have a hell of a lot of explaining to do.”
Once again, Cadence and Cale exchanged nervous glances, and his hand slipped up to rest around the back of her neck, a gesture of reassurance, she assumed. “Well, Elliott, that’s the other huge, gigantic news I needed to tell you,” she explained.
Elliott looked at her face, to the calm doctor, and then back again. “What huge, gigantic news is that?”
Smoothing her hair back with both hands, Cadence sighed. “He’s also a teenager. He’s only eighteen. And he’s a great kid. Funny, very talented. About the only Guardian I’ll let run with me now, besides Aaron. You’re really going to like him….”
“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll get along just fine after I tear his head off.”
“We already went through all of that, and he feels just terrible. He really cares a lot about Cass,” Cadence attempted to assure him.
“I’m sure he got a fine lecture from Mr. Responsibility,” he guffawed, clearly meaning Aaron, “but my lectures have a little more force behind them.” He was pounding his fist so hard on the armrest of Cale’s chair by the time he finished the statement, Cadence was thinking they may need to go furniture shopping next.
“Listen, Elliott, Brandon’s a really good kid. You are literally going to love him.” She wasn’t sure if he was listening as he continued to mumble threats under his breath. Once again, she placed her hand on his leg, an attempt to get his attention. “Elliott, his name is Brandon Keen.” She waited for him to begin to process. “Keen. As in Amanda Keen.”
She had him now. Once again, his eyes were large, and his face began to lighten. “Keen?” he repeated. “He’s… Amanda’s kid?”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “And yours.”
Chapter Fifteen
“I have a son?” Elliott repeated for about the twentieth time in the last two minutes. Once again, Cadence confirmed for him that, yes, he had a son. And no, Brandon had not meant for Cassidy to get hurt.
“He’s a good kid,” Cale assured the new-found father who sat staring at the ceiling, his large hands intertwined behind his head.
“Anyway,” Cadence finally said as Elliott continued to process, “we got Giovani and Zabrina. Obviously, I was rescued,” she patted Cale on the knee since he had been one of the first familiar faces she’d seen once she’d decapitated Giovani, “and we are still working on Gibbon. But he’s been radio silent since October. We’ve had a blip now and then, but not much. So… Aaron wants to go back to Philly in the next few days and see if we can get any more info.”
Elliott just nodded, still staring at the ceiling.
Cadence couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at how quickly the tables had turned. A few moments ago, she’d been the stunned one, unable to believe he was here. Now, he was shocked, unable to grasp that he had another child. “Cale,” she said, turning to face her host, “can Elliott borrow your cell phone to call Aaron? He doesn’t have an IAC, and my phone is still in Kansas City.”
“Yeah, sure,” the doctor replied, fishing it out of his pants pocket. Though they could communicate with each other using their IACs, most of them also preferred to carry a cell for family members, social networking, and the occasional round of Angry Birds.
“Thanks,” Cadence said as she took the phone from him. She checked in with Aaron to see if now was a good time and got a “yeah” in response. “Elliott, do you want to talk to Aaron?” she asked.
It took him a moment to realize she was speaking to him. “Oh, yeah, sure,” he replied as she dialed the number. She was a little embarrassed to have to ask him what his phone number actually was, but since she never called him and had it in her phone, she had seen no reason to memorize it. She didn’t bother to say anything to him, just put in the number and handed the phone over to Elliott.
He answered rather quickly, but listening to a one sided conversation was not particularly interesting, so Cadence finally turned her attention to what was left of the sushi and realized she was starving. Whatever Aaron was saying, Elliott seemed to be in good spirits, and she was happy that her fiancée at least wasn’t taking her insubordination out on his formerly dead best friend.
“I have some of that turkey left that you like if you want me to make you a sandwich,” Cale offered, leaning in closely and whispering to her so as not to disrupt Elliott’s conversation.
While she was tempted to protest, Cadence’s stomach was rumbling. “Okay,” she found herself saying, and Cale laughed at her as he went off into the kitchen to comply, patting her knee twice before he stood. She stared at her own leg for a second, wondering what was happening. Was he attempting to be comforting or taking advantage of her fight with Aaron? She really wasn’t sure, even though she knew he had a girlfriend. As he sat the sandwich down in front of her, she wondered what his new girl might think to see him so touchy feely.
Pushing those thoughts aside, she thanked him and dug into her sandwich, hoping that everything would go back to normal as soon as she and Elliott returned to headquarters the next day. Of course, that also meant that Aaron would have to keep his end of the deal, and she wasn’t sure what the chances of that were. In fairness, she probably wouldn’t have been too quick to forgive him either if he’d actually found a way to prevent her from ever opening the portal in the first place.
A few seconds later, she heard Elliott say he’d see Aaron soon and disconnect the call, handing the phone back to Cale, who seemed to be sitting closer to Cadence than he had been before he left to make the sandwich—or was that just her imagination?
“Well, he doesn’t seem too mad,” Elliott said with a shrug. “Not at me, anyw
ay.”
“Oh, well, that’s what I was concerned about,” Cadence replied, rolling her eyes.
With a laugh, he continued. “He’ll be fine in a day or two. Give or take a year.”
Cadence wanted to laugh, but she wasn’t sure exactly how accurate that statement might actually be. She was pretty sure that she’d spent more time fighting with Aaron than they’d spent as a couple, though she’d never gone back and done the math. Thoughts of how she’d felt the entire time she was out on the road trying to find herself, avoiding him at all costs, left her stomach churning, and she sat the second half of her sandwich back down on the plate, dusting her hands off on a napkin.
“Finished with that?” Elliott asked, eyeing the rest of the turkey on rye.
Cadence looked at the empty sushi wrapper and the other aftermath associated with the meal Elliott had essentially devoured all by himself. “Yeah?” she said, almost as a question. He didn’t hesitate to snatch it up and put it away, too. He’d always been a big eater, but this was stunning even to her. “Didn’t they feed you on the other side?”
“I don’t remember,” he admitted, “but if they did it was probably manna or some shit like that. Besides, this stomach has been hanging out in various disposable containers for the last few months.”
“He has a point,” Cale offered with a laugh.
Cadence just looked at him, one eyebrow raised. “I think it’s time for me to get some sleep,” she said in response. “Some of us still require a few hours of shut eye.”
“Sleep is for the weak,” Elliott teased around a giant bite of turkey.
“I’ll walk you to the guest room,” Cale offered, and even though Cadence thought it was a strange offer considering she’d just been there a few days before, she picked up her backpack, kissed Elliott on the top of the head, and followed behind the Reno Leader.
As soon as he opened the door, she remembered how comfortable his guest bed was, and she was tempted to drop on top of the comforter fully clothed and go straight to sleep. But she knew being in the desert for the last few days couldn’t be doing too much for her in the fresh-smell department, so she decided she needed to take a shower first.
“Do you need anything?” Cale asked from behind her, still standing in the doorway.
Ogling the masterpiece of a mattress had made her forget he was there. “Oh, no. I know where everything is.” She turned and gave him a reassuring smile.
The doctor nodded, running a hand through his blond hair and smiling at her. “Okay, well, if there’s anything I can do, just let me know.”
Cadence returned the smile, and as he turned to go, she reached out and put her hand on his arm. “Cale,” she said, as he turned to face her, “thanks for everything. I wouldn’t have been able to pull this off if I didn’t know I could trust you.”
His face lit up and the grin widened. “I’ll always do whatever I can to help you, Cadence. You know that,” he said as he gently took her hand from his arm and squeezed it before releasing her and turning to go, leaving Cadence standing in the doorway looking at her hand as if it were a foreign object.
She closed the door and decided not to think about exactly what the good doctor’s intentions might be. For now, she needed to cleanse herself and get some rest. In the morning, she’d head back to Kansas City and figure out how to tell everyone Elliott was alive, introduce him to his son, and let her half-Vampire sister know her hero walked among them again. The whole thing seemed exhausting even when she didn’t factor in that her partner in crime was ready to toss her so far beneath the prison no one would ever hear from her again.
The next morning, she awoke confused. She wasn’t sure where she was or how she’d gotten there at first, but within a few seconds, everything came rushing back to her, and without stopping to put on anything other than the long T-shirt and panties she threw on after her shower, she went flying out of the bedroom in a blur, afraid she’d dreamt the whole thing.
Cadence heard his voice before she saw his face, but as soon as she came around the corner, the entire room froze, looking up at her, eyes wide. Elliott and Cale were not alone, and several other members of the Reno team were sitting around his coffee table, apparently listening to Elliott tell a story. Beyond embarrassed, Cadence pulled the hem of her shirt down and backed away as quickly as she’d come, yelling over her shoulder, “Just checking,” before she flung herself back inside of the guest room and slammed the door. Leaning back against it, she melted to the floor, hoping no one had actually seen her underwear.
As she buried her face in her hands, she heard heavy footsteps in the hallway behind her, and a few seconds later, a rapping on the door. “Cadence?” Elliott half-whispered. “Are you all right?”
“Yep, just fine,” she said, her voice muffled by her hands that were still over her face.
She could tell he was trying not to laugh at her. “I’m pretty sure no one saw anything they shouldn’t have.”
“Oh, really?” she asked, scooting away from the door enough so that he could crack it. “Just call me Em!”
“Em?”
“Yeah. Em Bare Assed. Party of one,” she replied, peeking up at him through the sliver.
That was enough to cause him to break into a fit of laughter, and it took him a few moments to regain his composure. “No one saw your bare ass,” he finally got out. “What were you doing anyway?”
Cadence banged her head against the doorjamb. “I just had to make sure you were still alive.”
“While I appreciate the concern, why not get dressed first?”
“I don’t know,” she lamented. “I was super sleepy last night, and I was afraid I’d dreamt you. So… I just jumped out of bed without thinking. I usually sleep in more clothes when I’m not at my apartment.”
“Which begs the question of what you sleep in while you’re at your apartment.”
“Hey!” she scolded, pointing at him sharply. “Nunya.”
“You’re right. Definitely none of my business, and I don’t really want to know. I’m just saying, it’s not that big of a deal. You were basically a blur. And there are only a few Reno peeps hanging out in there. I’m sure it’s fine.”
She wasn’t so sure. “Well, you saw me.”
“True. But I didn’t see much. It’s not a big deal. Just put some clothes on and come out.”
“You sure?” she asked, still peering at him through the crack in the door.
“Yep. No one cares,” he assured her.
Cadence wasn’t convinced, but she said, “Okay,” and pushed the door shut, locking it just to make sure no one took her expedition as an invitation and went off to the bathroom to get dressed and take care of other various necessities.
She was brushing her teeth when she realized Aaron was attempting to get ahold of her through the IAC. Though she was a bit reluctant considering she wasn’t sure if he was still angry or if he’d had a few hours to get over it, she gave him access. Forcing as chipper a tone as possible, she said, “Hey, what’s up?”
“Good morning,” he said, his voice a little flat and nearly impossible to read. “How’s it going?”
“Fine,” Cadence shrugged. “Just got up.”
“How’s Elliott?”
“Still alive,” she assured him, spitting into the sink. “I guess we’ll head back there in a few hours.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” he replied, and Cadence could tell by his tone that something was up. “How would you feel about flying back instead of driving?”
“What about my bike?” she asked as she finished running a brush through her hair and tying it back in a ponytail.
“I think that will take too long. I may need you back here faster than that.”
She could tell there was something he wasn’t saying, and that always made her nervous. “I guess,” she replied cautiously. “Can you send something big enough to load my motorcycle though?”
“Sure,” he agreed. “Can the two of y
ou be at the airport in about an hour?”
“That’s fast,” she said. “What did you send that can get here that quickly?”
“The plane that left two hours ago.”
Cadence bit her tongue. So it wasn’t actually a question after all. “Why do you do that?” she asked, knowing there would be no answer. “Fine. What’s going on?”
“Not sure yet, but you need to get back here.”
She knew he wouldn’t tell her more, so she repeated. “Fine.”
“All right. I love you,” he offered, a bit of an olive branch.
“I love you, too,” she replied, meaning it despite her aggravation.
“Oh, and Cadence,” he interjected right before she clicked him off.
“Yes?”
“This time, before you leave, put on some pants.”
“Those jerks!” she exclaimed, wondering who had already told him when it hadn’t even been fifteen minutes. Clearly, Elliott had been trying to spare her feelings and others had also noticed her state of undress. She wanted to murder all of them before they could send this information to anyone else or post a picture somewhere equally as embarrassing. Shaking her head and double-checking her outfit, she made her way out of the restroom, determined to keep her head held high as she exited the guest room. It would only bother her if she let it. “They have no power over me,” she muttered to herself, reflecting on a line from one of her favorite movies, as she gathered her things and went out to figure out who the culprit might be. Someone was getting their head slammed into a wall before she left the building.
Chapter Sixteen
“Well, you know it wasn’t me,” Elliott assured her as they sat next to each other about an hour later on the plane Aaron had sent. “Until Christian can hook me up with another IAC, I’m completely cut off from the world.”
She just nodded. At the end of the day, it didn’t really matter who had told Aaron about her faux pas, but when she’d exited the guest room to try and determine who the snitch was, everyone was gone except for Elliott and Cale, and the doctor insisted that he hadn’t even noticed, though Cadence didn’t believe him. He was looking at her even funnier than he had been the night before. And Cadence had no idea who else had even been in the room since she was horrible with names and faces and hadn’t stopped to look around.
