“Go in peace,” Carine said.
Lauren took one more long look around the room, and then she disappeared through the door.
The silence lasted less than a second.
Carine looked at Edythe. “How close?”
Earnest was already moving. His hand touched a keypad on the wall, and with a groan, huge metal shutters began sealing up the glass wall. My mouth fell open.
“About three miles out past the river. She’s circling around to meet up with the male.”
“What’s the plan?”
“We lead her off, then Archie and Jessamine will run him south.”
“And then?”
Edythe’s voice turned icy. “As soon as Beau is clear, we hunt her.”
“I guess she’s left us no other choice,” Carine agreed, her expression grim.
Edythe looked at Royal. “Get him upstairs and trade clothes.”
Royal stared back at her, incredulous.
“And why would I do that?” he asked. “What is he to me?”
“Roy…,” Eleanor murmured, putting one hand on his shoulder. He shook it off.
My eyes were on Edythe, worried that this would set off her temper, but she surprised me. She looked away from Royal like he hadn’t spoken, like he didn’t exist.
“Earnest?” she asked calmly.
“Of course.”
As he was speaking, he was already at my side and ducking to grab me in a fireman’s hold. We were up the stairs before I could register what was happening.
“What are we doing?” I asked as he set me down in a dark room somewhere off the second-story hall.
“Trying to confuse the scent trail. It won’t work for long, but it might give you a head start.” His voice was muffled as he pulled his shirt over his head.
I yanked my sweater off and held it out to him. He switched mine for his. I struggled to get my arms through the right holes, then yanked my jeans off. We traded. His pants were a little too short, but otherwise fit fine. He pulled me back to the hall. Earnest looked smaller in my clothes; he’d rolled the bottoms of my jeans. Archie was suddenly there; a leather satchel hung over his arm. They each grabbed one of my elbows and flew down the stairs.
It looked like everything had been settled. Edythe and Eleanor were ready to leave, Eleanor carrying a big backpack over her shoulder. Carine handed something small to Earnest. She turned to Archie and handed him the same thing—a tiny silver cell phone.
“Earnest and Royal will be taking your truck, Beau,” she told me as she passed. I nodded, glancing warily at Royal. He was glaring at Carine, resentful.
“Archie, Jess, take the Mercedes. You’ll need the dark tint in the South.”
They nodded.
“We’ll take the Jeep.”
Carine stopped next to Edythe. I realized that this was the hunting party, and I felt like I was going to throw up. How did it get to this point? Why had they listened to my idea? It was obviously wrong.
“Archie, will they take the bait?”
Everyone watched Archie as he closed his eyes and became incredibly still. A few seconds later his eyes opened again.
“She’ll track you. The man will follow the truck. We’ll be able to leave after that.” He was positive.
“Let’s go,” Carine said, heading for the kitchen.
But Edythe came back for me. She stared up at me, her gold eyes huge and deep and full of a million words she didn’t have time to say, and reached up to put her hands on my face. I leaned down, my hands already in her hair. For the shortest second, her lips were icy and hard against mine.
Then it was over. She pushed my shoulders back. Her eyes went blank, dead, just before she turned away from me.
They were gone.
We stood there, no one looking at me while I stared after them. It felt like someone had ripped all the skin off my face. My eyes burned.
The silent moment dragged. Archie’s eyes were closed again. Then Earnest’s phone vibrated in his hand, and Archie nodded once. The phone flashed to Earnest’s ear.
“Now,” Earnest said. Royal stalked out the front door without another glance in my direction, but Earnest touched my shoulder as he passed.
“Be safe.” His whisper lingered behind them as they slipped out the door. I heard the truck start thunderously, and then the sound faded away.
Jessamine and Archie waited. Then Archie lifted his phone to his ear just before it buzzed.
“Edythe says the man is on Earnest’s trail. I’ll get the car.” He vanished into the shadows the way Edythe had gone.
Jessamine and I looked at each other. She stood across the length of the entryway from me.
“You’re wrong, you know,” she said.
“Huh?”
“I can feel what you’re feeling now—and you are worth it.”
The feeling of being slowly skinned didn’t let up. “If anything happens to them, it will be for nothing,” I whispered.
She smiled kindly. “You’re wrong,” she repeated.
Archie stepped through the front door and walked straight toward me, one arm out.
“May I?” he asked.
“You’re the first one to ask permission,” I mumbled.
Archie slung me up into a fireman’s carry like Earnest had and, with Jessamine shielding us protectively, flew out the door, leaving the lights on behind us.
20. IMPATIENCE
WHEN I WOKE UP, I WAS CONFUSED. IT TOOK ME LONGER THAN IT SHOULD have to remember where I was.
The room was too bland to belong anywhere but a hotel. The bedside lamps were bolted to the tables, and the drapes were made from the same fabric as the bedspread.
I tried to remember how I’d gotten to this room, but nothing came at first.
I remembered the black car, the glass in the windows darker than that on a limousine. The engine was almost silent, though we’d raced across the black freeways at more than twice the legal limit.
And I remembered Archie on the seat next to me, rather than up front with Jessamine. I remembered realizing suddenly that he was there as my bodyguard, that the front seat was apparently not close enough. It should have made the danger seem more real, but it all felt a million miles away. The danger I was in personally wasn’t the danger I was worried about.
I made Archie keep up a strange stream-of-consciousness future watch all night long. There weren’t any details so small they didn’t interest me. He’d told me turn by turn how Edythe, Carine, and Eleanor would be moving through the forest, and though I didn’t know any of the landmarks he referenced, I’d been riveted by every word. And then he would go back and describe the same sequence differently, as some decision remapped the future. This happened over and over again, and it was impossible to follow, but I didn’t care. As long as the future never put Edythe and Joss in the same place, I’d been able to keep breathing.
Sometimes he would switch to Earnest for me. Earnest and Royal were in my truck, heading east. Which meant the red-haired man was still on their trail.
Archie’d had a more difficult time seeing Charlie. “Humans are harder than vampires,” he told me. And I’d remembered that Edythe had said something to me about that once. It had seemed like years ago, when it had been only days. I remembered being disoriented by the way I couldn’t make sense of the time.
I remembered the sun coming up over a low peak somewhere in California. The light had stung my eyes, but I’d tried not to close them. When I did, the images that flashed behind my lids like still slides were too much. I’d rather my eyes burn than see them again. Charlie’s broken expression… Edythe’s bared teeth… Royal’s furious glare… the red eyes of the tracker staring at me… the dead look in Edythe’s eyes when she’d turned away from me…
I kept my eyes open, and the sun moved across the sky.
I remembered my head feeling heavy and light at the same time as we raced through a shallow mountain pass and the sun, behind us now, reflected off the tiled rooftops
of my hometown. I hadn’t had enough emotion left to be surprised that we’d made a three-day journey in one. I’d stared blankly at the city laid out in front of us, realizing slowly that it was supposed to mean something to me. The scrubby creosote, the palm trees, the green golf course amoebas, the turquoise splotches of swimming pools—these were supposed to be familiar. I was supposed to feel like I was home.
The shadows of the streetlights had slanted across the freeway with lines that were sharper than I remembered. So little darkness. There was no place to hide in these shadows.
“Which way to the airport?” Jessamine had asked—the first time she’d spoken since we’d gotten in the car.
“Stay on the I-ten,” I’d answered automatically. “We’ll pass right by it.”
It had taken me a few seconds more to process the implications of her question. My brain was foggy with exhaustion.
“Are we flying somewhere?” I’d asked Archie. I couldn’t think of the plan. This didn’t sound right, though.
“No, but it’s better to be close, just in case.”
I remembered starting the loop around Sky Harbor International… but not ending it. That must have been when my brain had finally crashed.
Though, now that I’d chased the memories down, I did have a vague impression of leaving the car—the sun behind the horizon, my arm draped over Archie’s shoulder, his arm dragging me along as I stumbled through the warm, dry shadows.
I had no memory of this room.
I looked at the digital clock on the nightstand. The red numbers claimed it was three o’clock, but there was no way to tell if that meant a.m. or p.m. No light showed around the edges of the thick curtains, but the room was bright with the light from the lamps.
I rose stiffly and staggered to the window, pulling back the drapes.
It was dark outside. Three in the morning, then. The room looked out on a deserted section of the freeway and the new long-term parking garage for the airport. It made me feel better—by a very small amount—to be able to pinpoint time and place.
I looked down. I was still wearing Earnest’s shirt and too-short pants. I looked around the room and was glad when I saw my duffel bag on top of the low dresser.
A light tap on the door made me jump.
“Can I come in?” Archie asked.
I took a deep breath. “Sure.”
He walked in and looked me over. “You look like you could sleep longer.”
I shook my head.
He darted silently to the window and pulled the curtains shut.
“We’ll need to stay inside,” he told me.
“Okay.” My voice was hoarse; it cracked.
“Thirsty?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I’m okay. How about you?”
He smiled. “Nothing unmanageable. I ordered some food for you—it’s in the front room. Edythe reminded me that you have to eat a lot more frequently than we do.”
I was instantly more alert. “She called?”
“No.” He watched my face fall. “It was before we left. She gave me lots of instructions. Come eat something.”
He was out of the room before I could protest that I wasn’t hungry. I followed slowly behind him.
There was a living room attached to the bedroom. A low buzz of voices was coming from the TV. Jessamine sat at the desk in the corner, her eyes on the TV, but no interest in her expression. Archie went to stand by her. He ran his hand over her honey-colored hair.
“What’s the latest?” I asked.
“Earnest and Royal are back in Forks. The redhead gave up chasing them.”
I opened my mouth, but Archie was faster.
“They’re watching your father. The redhead won’t get past them.”
“What is he doing?”
“Working his way through town, looking for you as far as I can tell—he spent some time at the school.”
My eyes bulged. “Did he hurt anyone?”
Archie shook his head. “They seem pretty committed to the hunt they already started.”
“Edythe?”
“Frustrated, it looks like. They turned on the tracker, but she was already running. She’s kept going north. They’re chasing her.”
I stood there, not sure what to do.
Edythe was chasing Joss. Sure, she had Carine and Eleanor with her, but Edythe was the fastest.…
“Eat something, Beau. Edythe gets really difficult when she thinks her instructions aren’t being followed to the letter.”
There was a tray on the coffee table with a couple of stainless steel covers over the plates on it. I couldn’t think of anything to do besides follow Archie’s order. I sat on the floor next to the table and pulled off the first plate cover. I didn’t look at the food, I just grabbed something and started eating. I was probably hungry. We hadn’t stopped for food during our drive.
They were quiet and motionless while I ate. I stared at the TV, but I couldn’t make sense of what was happening. Was it a news show? Was it an infomercial? I wasn’t sure. I ate until the plates were empty. I didn’t taste any of it.
When there was nothing left to eat, I stared at the wall.
All I could see was Edythe in the forest, faster than a cheetah—faster than a bullet. It was obvious she would catch up with the tracker first.
Lauren’s words echoed in my head. You can’t bring her down. She’s absolutely lethal.
Suddenly Jessamine was standing over me, closer than usual.
“Beau,” she said in a soothing voice. “You have nothing to worry about. You are completely safe here.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you frightened?” She sounded confused. She might feel my emotions, but she couldn’t see the reasons behind them.
“You heard what Lauren said. Joss is lethal. What if something goes wrong, and they get separated? If anything happens, if Carine or Eleanor—or Edythe—” My voice broke. “If that crazy redhead hurts Earnest—how do I live with myself when it’s my fault? None of you should be risking your lives for—”
“Stop, Beau, stop,” she interrupted, her words pouring out so quickly they were hard to understand. “You’re worrying about all the wrong things, Beau. Trust me on this—none of us are in jeopardy. You are under enough strain as it is; don’t add to it with imaginary worries. Listen to me!” she ordered—I’d looked away. “Our family is strong. Our only fear is losing you.”
“But why should you—”
Archie was there then, his arm around Jessamine’s waist. “It’s been almost a century that Edythe’s been alone. Now she’s found you. You can’t see the changes that we see, we who have been with her for so long. Do you think any of us want to look into her eyes for the next hundred years if she loses you?”
My guilt started to ease. But even though the calm that spread over me felt totally natural, like it came from inside, I knew better.
“You know I’d do this anyway,” Archie added. “Even if Edythe hadn’t ask me to.”
“Why?”
He grinned. “It’s hard to explain without sounding slightly schizo-phrenic.… Time doesn’t mean the same thing to me that it does to you—or Jess, or anyone else.” Jessamine grinned and tweaked his ear. “So this won’t make sense to you. But for me, it’s like we’ve already been friends for a long time, Beau. The first second you became a part of Edythe’s life, for me it was like we’d already spent hundreds of hours together. We’ve laughed at Edythe’s overreactions together, we’ve annoyed Royal right out of the house together, we’ve stayed up all night talking with Carine together.…”
I stared and he shrugged. “It’s how I experience the world.”
“We’re friends?” I asked, my voice full of wonder.
“Best friends,” he told me. “Someday. It was nice of my favorite sister, don’t you think, to fall in love with my best friend? I guess I owe her one.”
“Huh,” was all I could think to say.
Archie laughed.
Je
ssamine rolled her eyes. “Thanks so much, Archie. I just got him calm.”
“No, I’m good,” I promised. Archie could be lying to make me feel better, but either way it worked. It wasn’t so bad if Archie wanted to help me, too. If he wasn’t just doing it for Edythe.
“So what do we do now?” I asked.
“We wait for something to change.”
It was a very long day.
We stayed in the room. Archie called down to the front desk and asked them to suspend our housekeeping service. The curtains stayed shut, the TV on, though no one watched it. At regular intervals, food was delivered for me.
It was funny how I was suddenly comfortable with Archie. It was like his vision of our friendship, spoken out loud, had made it real. He sat in the chair next to the sofa where I sprawled, and answered all the questions I’d been too nervous to ask before. Sometimes he’d answer them before I asked them. It was a little weird, but I figured that was how everyone else felt around Edythe all the time.
“Yes,” he said, when I thought about asking him that. “It’s exactly the same. She tries hard not to be obnoxious about it.”
He told me about waking up.
“I only remembered one thing, but I’m not even sure it was a memory. I thought I remembered someone saying my name—calling me Archie. But maybe I was remembering something that hadn’t happened yet—seeing that someday someone would call me Archie.” He smiled at my expression. “I know, it’s a circular dilemma, isn’t it?”
“The hair?” He ran a hand over his scalp, unselfconscious. The stubble was just long enough to see that his hair would have been dark brown, nearly black, like his eyebrows. “It was a rather extreme look for 1920. A little too early for me to have been a skinhead, thank heavens. My best guess is disease or bad behavior.”
“Bad behavior?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I might have been in prison.”
“You couldn’t have been much older than me,” I protested.
He steepled his fingers thoughtfully. “I like to believe that if I was a criminal, I was both a mastermind and a prodigy.”
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