He pulled a key from his pocket and undid the lock. The floors were a gleaming white wood and the walls were white too. The door opened into a kitchen and everything, except the stainless steel appliances, were white too. There was an archway and beyond it I could see three steps down into a family room with white couches and a large white rug. The views were stunning. I could understand now why everything was so sterilely white; the deep blue color of the Mediterranean was the only color needed. “Whose house is this?” I asked. “Yours?”
Jonathon’s hand came up to the small of my back and he answered, “Gabriel’s.”
“Really?” I asked, turning in his arms.
“Yeah,” he sighed. “Gabriel travels a lot so he said we could use it.”
I looked around the house with new eyes now. It looked like nothing I would associate with Gabriel. This place was so white and airy compared to his dark personality.
The shrill tone of my phone ringing made me jump. I pulled it out of my pocket. The number was unfamiliar. “Hello,” I stepped away from Jonathon.
“Tell Jonathon that it’s your brother on the phone,” said the slightly familiar voice. “Then excuse yourself to the bathroom. I’ll give you more instructions once you’re in there.”
I mouthed to Jonathon that it was my brothers on the phone and started down the hall. “It’s the third door on the left,” said the voice. I did as he said and found myself in what must be the master bedroom. I saw the door to the bathroom and went in. “Now lock the door and turn the sink on.” I did.
“Gabriel?” I whispered into the receiver.
“Shh,” he hissed. “I don’t want Jonathon knowing that I’m calling you.”
“Why are you calling me?” I asked.
“Because there are some things I think you should know but Jonathon wants to keep it from you. He’ll kill me if he finds out I’m giving you this information but I think you deserve to know. It’s your life after all. Don’t get me wrong… I understand where Jonathon’s coming from… it might not have anything to do with you… but then again it might…”
“I’m really confused,” I groaned.
He took a deep breath and said, “Okay, I need to you to open the right cabinet on the vanity.”
“Okay,” I opened it. “Now what?”
“You see that red lever on the pipes?” He asked.
“Yeah.”
“Turn it towards you.”
“Are you sure? Water’s not going to squirt out at me is it?” I questioned. This was Gabriel after all.
“No,” he huffed.
“Hang on a second,” I put the phone down so I could use both hands to pull the lever.
Finally it moved. There was a quiet groaning noise and then a piece of wall slid up revealing a metal door with an electronic lock on it.
“Wow,” I gasped as I picked up the phone.
“Do you see the safe?” he asked.
“Yeah, are you some kind of spy or something?” I asked in astonishment.
“No, I’m a man on the run from the very people that created me.”
“Oh,” I gulped.
He told me the code and the door popped open revealing an empty vault except for a small book. I read the title.
“The Holy Bible? Really Gabriel?” I asked.
“I meant no offense to the Lord. I just figured it would be the only thing dear old Jonathon wouldn’t snoop through.”
I groaned. “And you don’t think he’ll be suspicious of me carrying around a bible?”
“Nevertheless you’re going to have to hide it anyway. He can’t know that I made a copy.”
“A copy of what, Gabriel? What are you giving me?”
“The prophecies. I stole the only copy from The Originals many years ago… Now Jonathon has it… But I made a copy… or two… one for you and one for me…”
“I’m really confused.” I pinched the bridge of my nose.
Gabriel growled. “It’s a book of prophecies from the last Seer. The Originals coveted her so she came to me… she was an outcast like me… created directly by The Originals… she asked me to kill her…”
“And did you?”
“I had no choice… The Originals were after her… they would’ve killed her anyway… they very nearly did… and they wouldn’t have been as civil as I was…”
“Okay, what does this book have to do with me?”
“It prophesizes the new Seer… and some other events… that may be related to you…” Suddenly the line about the blue fire came back to me. Jonathon. But it still didn’t make much sense. “Just take the book… You don’t have to look at it… but my conscious told me that you should know… that you should be prepared for what is to come…”
“What’s to come?” I asked.
“The book predicts a battle that will decide the fate of vampires forever… There’s two outcomes… one not so good… the other much more preferable… The Originals power is weakening… it’s almost time…” Gabriel’s strange cadence confused me even further.
“But it’s just predictions right? None of this may happen?”
Gabriel’s cold laugh sounded over the receiver, “The Seer has never been wrong before and I don’t expect it will start now…” and then he hung up.
I took the book out and closed the door back and switched the lever to its previous position.
I cracked open the spine to the book. A note fell out. I picked it up and read it.
Kylie,
I cannot stress how important it is that Jonathon never finds out that I’ve given this to you. Keep it hidden at all costs. Do not speak of this to anyone besides myself. Burn this note immediately.
P.S. Be careful about how much you read. No one is supposed to know the future. None but the Seer.
Gabriel
I crumpled up the note and stuck it in my pocket. I didn’t have a lighter and had no idea how to dispose of it without Jonathon seeing. I slammed my hand down on the counter. Why on Earth did Gabriel have to be so cryptic? I knew why. Whatever those pages held had something to do with me. Somehow… someway… It was all so strange. I honestly didn’t want to know what the pages held. Not anymore. I took the note from my pocket stuffed it back in the book and reopened the safe. I wanted nothing to do with that book. Once it was safely locked away, I breathed a sigh of relief.
I straightened the towels under the cabinet and undid the door. Jonathon wasn’t in the room like I had expected. I found him in the family room sprawled out on the couch watching the news. He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me down on top of him stomach to stomach. “What did your brothers want?” He brushed his lips against mine.
“Nothing,” I kissed his chin. “Just wanted to bug me.”
“Hmm,” he hummed thoughtfully. “I would’ve thought they would have been too busy with Vivian and Viola.”
I stammered out. “Well, they… uh… felt bad because they didn’t say much to me at the wedding so they wanted to apologize.”
“Oh,” he seemed to buy that. “That was nice.”
“It was,” I kissed his lips. “But I really don’t want to talk about my brothers on our honeymoon.” Or have to think about that stupid book.
“Me neither,” his lips brushed against my forehead and down towards my chin making me shiver.
I looked out at the inviting blue water. “Want to go for a swim?” I asked.
“I would like nothing more.” I flipped off of him and took his hands to drag him with me.
“I’m not sure I have a bathing suit,” I grinned, even though I perfectly well knew there was one at the very bottom of my suitcase.
He raised his eyebrows. “That is certainly not a problem. This beach is private. No one will see,” he smiled wickedly causing me to blush. He kissed my neck before grabbing our suitcases and carrying them back to the bedroom. I dug through the bag and found my white bikini. “Oh, too bad,” Jonathon frowned when I held up the bathing suit.
“Maybe for you,
” I giggled.
He appraised the piece of fabric, taking it from my hands. “I don’t know, I may still be in luck. It looks like this thing leaves little to the imagination.”
“Ha ha,” I snatched the swimsuit from his hands.
He chuckled.
I pulled on the bathing suit and asked; “Jonathon do you think you could tie this in the back for me?”
He groaned huskily. “Woman, you are killing me.”
I smiled.
Mission accomplished.
His fingers trembled on the skin of my back.
“Trouble?” I asked.
“No not at all,” he whispered. After a pause he exclaimed, “Oh hell, forget the swim.” The skimpy bikini fell off of my body and we collapsed onto the bed.
* * *
A while later as we lay in the bed I started laughing.
“What on Earth are you laughing at?” Jonathon demanded.
I clenched my stomach in hysterics. He growled. I wiped tears from my eyes and gasped breathlessly, “Is it just me or is it a little, no, a lot, weird that we just had sex in Gabriel’s bed.” Stating my thoughts made it even funnier and the giggles started up again. Jonathon began to join in. His shoulders shook with laughter, causing the bed shake, which made the whole thing even funnier because not too long ago the bed had been shaking for a different reason.
We finally managed to quiet ourselves but here and there another giggle would come out which would ensue in another round of laughter.
“Well, Gabriel did offer the house,” Jonathon laughed.
I snorted. “I hope he has the sheets cleaned.”
“I’m sure he will. But just in case maybe we should leave a note.”
“I can picture it now; Dear Gabriel, you might want to wash your sheets, wink, wink.” I laughed again and had to wipe tears from my eyes. Jonathon caught a stray one. “I still want to go for a swim,” I confessed.
Jonathon pulled me against him. “Mmm… I don’t want to move.”
“We have the rest of the day and all night to be in bed. Come on, we’re in Greece!”
“As long as you wear that,” he rolled his eyes to the discarded pieces of white fabric.
“Oh, it’s a deal.”
The water was warm but still a bit nippy. It felt good compared to the hot sun shining down on us. I floated on my back in the water. Jonathon, nearby, came up and squirted water on me. “Jonathon,” I groaned. “For a seven hundred year old vampire you can be such a little boy.”
He laughed. “Don’t you know that men never grow up,” he kissed me loudly and dramatically.
“But you’re not a man.”
“Oh, but aren’t I?” he asked with an evil glint in his eye. He smiled triumphantly as it clicked in my head what he meant.
“Jonathon Matthew Pulmer,” I smacked him on the arm.
“Kylie Elizabeth Pulmer,” he pulled me against him, kissing me again.
“I love the sound of that,” I breathed.
“I do too, more than you know,” his smile was huge and I couldn’t help but smile in response.
I dunked under the water and then got out to stretch out on the towel and soak in the sun’s rays. Just as my skin was beginning to dry Jonathon joined me, showering me once more in droplets of water.
“Jonathon,” I scolded to which he just laughed, kissed me, and settled onto the towel beside me. The sun, the water, and our other extracurricular activities had left me exhausted and I found myself falling asleep to the sun’s soothing heat.
When I woke up my skin was warm and my muscles were relaxed. I turned my head to look at Jonathon. “Let’s go inside.”
“Sure,” he stood, taking the towel from me and carrying it inside. I followed. He hung up the towels and proceeded to open the fridge. He threw me a bottle of water before pulling something out for himself. The bottle was tinted but I could guess what was inside.
“Is that blood?” I asked.
He gulped and with each sip the glow faded until finally it was gone. He tossed the bottle into a trashcan. “Yeah,” he admitted reluctantly.
“You’ve never eaten in front of me before,” I stated.
“I know,” he rested his elbows on the white marble counter top.
“It’s kinda gross,” I frowned and he chuckled.
He puckered his lips, “You kiss these you know?”
“Not anymore,” I snickered.
“Is that a threat?” He raised a brow.
“It’s a promise,” I smiled, leaning against the counter.
“In that case,” he said and suddenly stood right in front of me. He tossed me over his shoulder and carried me to the bedroom.
“Stop it,” I screamed, beating his back. “Put me down,” I commanded but the effect was lost because of my giggles.
“Your wish is my command,” he tossed me on the bed and collapsed on top of me. His hands tangled in my hair. He looked into my eyes, not saying anything at all, but yet saying everything with his eyes instead of words. My chest rose and fell rapidly with each breath.
“I love you,” I reached up, playing with one of his blond curls that made him look more like an angel than a vampire. “Nothing can ever change that.”
We stayed the rest of the week in Greece. Just before we left though, I decided to retrieve the book of prophecies. Something kept urging me to get it but I still refused to open it. It now sat in the bottom of my suitcase wrapped in a scarf that I never used. There was something about the book that frightened me. I couldn’t pinpoint what exactly it was about the book that scared me… No, I did know. What scared me about the book was what its pages might hold about my life. Gabriel obviously thought, and Jonathon too, that the book contained predictions about me…us. It was powerful. That was blatantly obvious. And Gabriel said he had stolen it. Stolen it from The Originals themselves. I’d never met The Originals but from what I had heard about them they terrified me. What I had been told about them coincided with the stereotypical vampire. I hoped I never did meet them.
From Greece we went to Egypt. I had always wanted to see the pyramids and museums. It was more than I ever imagined. I felt like I walked around the whole time with my mouth hanging open which in turn entertained Jonathon.
We left Egypt and went to Spain. First to Barcelona and then to Madrid.
I couldn’t believe that I was actually getting to see the world.
We soon left behind Spain for England where we stayed in a little cottage that looked like it was straight out of a movie. The cottage was close to London so we traveled there for a little while. After England we toured the rolling hills of Scotland and Ireland. I took picture after picture of every place we went. On our last night in Ireland Jonathon whispered in my ear, “Now, it’s my turn.”
“Your turn?” I asked.
“It’s time for your surprise, which also results in my turn to pick where we go.”
“And are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“No,” he replied simply.
“Of course,” I rolled my eyes. “Heaven forbid I should ever know anything.”
He laughed, “That’s right.”
“Yippee, I’m so excited,” I snapped sarcastically.
“You should be,” he grinned, kissing the top of my head.
So, the next morning I got up and packed with no idea where I was headed. All Jonathon said was that it would be a long plane ride with no stops. I rubbed my eyes and boarded the private plane for what felt like the hundredth time. I had lost count so maybe it was.
Jonathon was right. It was a terribly long flight but at least I was able to move around and there was descent food to eat. I finally crashed; I had been determined to stay awake in the hope of figuring out our destination but that soon proved impossible. I awoke to Jonathon carrying me off the plane and depositing me into a white Range Rover Evoque. No more than he had started the car, I fell asleep again. I don’t know how long we drove but when I woke up Jonathon was turnin
g down an impossibly long driveway studded with palm trees on each side. Judging from the light shining into the car despite its darkly tinted windows I figured it had to be in the afternoon. He kept driving, not saying a word, while I tried to figure out where we were.
“Am I allowed to know where we’re at yet?”
“I suppose so,” he drove around a curve.
“Well?” I prompted.
“Home,” he said and then I saw the house.
Chapter Six: Homecoming
The house was a small two story with loads of character. It had white shingled siding, dark blue shutters with flower boxes filled with red flowers, and a wraparound porch. Two white rocking chairs set off to the side of the red front door. I heard the ocean and I was positive that from the back of the house you could probably see it too. Jonathon parked the car in the driveway, there was no garage and turned to me. I had yet to say a word.
Looking hurt he asked, “Do you like it? If you don’t like it we can sell it and get something else?”
I still couldn’t say anything. I was in shock.
“It’s okay if you hate it,” he said. “Really, it won’t hurt my feelings.”
“Jonathon,” I said around the lump in my throat. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect. This… This is amazing,” I wiped away the tears of happiness.
“Principessa, please don’t cry. I don’t want you to be upset.”
“I’m not crying because I’m upset. I’m crying because I’m just so happy!” I wiped at my face while Jonathon’s hand rubbed soothing circles on my back and shoulder. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m so emotional.”
“Don’t ever apologize for crying, principessa.”
I sniffled and said, “Normally I only cry when I’m really upset but now?” I pointed to my face and to the tears that just didn’t seem to want to stop. “These are all happy tears.”
“Let’s get you inside.”
I took his hand and let him lead inside the beautiful little house. He went in a side door that opened into a bright and sunny mudroom complete with a bench, built in coat rack, and matching washer and dryer with cabinets for storage and a little sink. The walls were a soft yellow adding to cheerfulness. The floor in here was tiled. Jonathon and I removed our shoes before he opened up a door and led me through the rest of the house.
Forever (Fallen Series Book 3) Page 8
