After I’d finished yammering Laylen’s ear off, he stayed silent for awhile, and I started to worry that maybe I’d bored him to death or something.
But finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he said, “I don’t even know what to say Gemma. I’m so sorry,”
That’s when I realized I hadn’t been boring him to death at all. He’d just been being a good listener and taking in what I was telling him. I was so use to being the quiet one and never talking, that when it came to being the one getting listened to, I was completely clueless.
“I didn’t realize how bad things were for you,” Laylen continued. “You know what I find strange is that Stephan made this big plan to seclude you from everyone to keep you from feeling, but I never thought the plan would actually work. I mean, how can you force a person to become emotionally detached?”
“Alex told me it was because if you raised a person to never know what things like happiness and sadness and love are, then they wouldn’t know how to feel them. And it was working well too. That is, until a couple of months ago when I suddenly snapped out of it.”
“But if Alex’s little theory is true, then why would you all of a sudden start to feel?” He paused. “And why would they lie to you about how old you were when you went to live with Marco and Sophia? It just doesn’t make sense.”
“Maybe so I wouldn’t try to remember my mother.” I suggested. I mean, it made sense; them telling me I hadn’t been old enough to remember her so that I wouldn’t try to. Still, I wasn’t entirely convinced. They’d created such a tangled maze of lies, who the heck knew what was true and what wasn’t. I did know one thing, though. Getting the truth out of Alex seemed impossible. The guy could lie like no other.
“I guess that could be why, but it still doesn’t explain why you suddenly started to feel.” He brushed his blue tipped bangs off of his forehead and sighed. “Gemma, regardless of what Alex tells you, Stephan can’t be trusted.”
“How come?” But really, did I even have to ask. Stephan was, after all, Alex’s father.
“Well, there’s been a lot of things Stephan’s done that are questionable. One of the worst, though, was when you’re mother disappeared.”
My heart thumped loudly in my chest. “What do you mean, she disappeared. I-I thought she died?”
“Well, that’s what Stephan told everyone.” He scooted his chair in closer so that we were practically huddled together. “Right after she went missing, I overheard my parents talking about how Jocelyn had this huge fight with Stephan over you. She didn’t want to give you up, and from what I understand, she was going to make a run for it. When she did, Stephan went looking for her, but when he came back, he only had you. He told everyone he couldn’t find Jocelyn anywhere. The Keepers searched for her and everything, but no one ever found a single clue as to what could have happened to her. After awhile, they just assumed she died.”
Blood howled inside my ears. “They just assumed she died? How can anyone just assume someone died?”
“Mysterious deaths are very common in the Keepers world because we are constantly encountering so many dangerous things.”
“But do you think she died?”
He shook his head. “And neither did my parents. I only heard bits and pieces of their conversations, but from what I understood, my parents didn’t believe Jocelyn just up and died. And they had their suspicions that one of the Keepers might have played a part in her disappearance.”
“And you think its Stephan,” I said, feeling like I might throw up. My mom hadn’t just died in a car accident. My mom had disappeared. And someone might have made her disappear.
“I can’t say for sure because I don’t have any proof but….” He twisted his lip ring back and forth. “Okay, this is what I know about Stephan. First, he is very power hungry, and he likes to be in control of things all times. If anyone gets in the path of what he wants, he’ll do whatever it takes to get rid of them. And because he’s the leader of the Keepers, no one questions the decisions he makes.”
“So you think that he might have gotten rid of my mom so he could have control over me and the star’s power.” My voice sounded strangely off pitch.
“I think that’s one possibility. But since I have no proof, I can’t say for sure.”
“Well, maybe you could ask your parents,” I suggested. “They might know more about it.”
His bright blue eyes saddened as he leaned back in his chair. “My parents are dead, Gemma. They died in a car accident a few months after all of this happened.”
“Oh.” I felt so bad for bringing it up. Nice one Gemma. Nice one. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. It was a long time ago.” He was acting like it wasn’t a big deal, but I knew it really was.
“Does Alex know about any of this?” I asked, shifting the subject away from his parents.
He seemed hesitant to answer. “The thing about Alex is that he’s kind of been brainwashed. Like how you were with your emotions. He’s got it in his head that Stephan can do no wrong. But yeah, I have mentioned it to him and he didn’t believe me.”
Everything was so confusing; a bunch of questions with no answer—cliffhangers without endings. I sighed, my mind spinning.
“Hey, I have an idea.” Laylen scooted his chair away from table and got to his feet. “Why don’t we take a break from all of this deep talk and go into the kitchen and get you something to eat.”
Hmmm…I was kind of hungry. “That actually sounds like a good idea.” I yawned. Apparently, I was kind of tired too.
He laughed. “And then maybe you should get some sleep.”
I glanced at the window. The sun’s pale pink glow spilled through the glass. Sunrise had arrived and I really did feel tired, but I didn’t want to stop our conversation. I wanted to figure out as much as I could before Alex returned. “Yeah, I guess I could sleep.”
Hearing the reluctance in my voice Laylen said, “Don’t worry. We’ll finish talking about this. I promise.”
I sure hoped so.
We went into the kitchen and Laylen began cooking me some eggs. Yes, a Vampire/Keeper was making me eggs. Crazy, right? I was sitting on one of the barstools that encircled the midnight blue countertop island, waiting patiently. I would’ve been helping him cook, but he’d refused to let me when I’d offered.
The pan sizzled as Laylen dragged the spatula through the eggs. It had been quiet for a little while now, so when he suddenly spoke, it startled me.
“Gemma, do you still have the list of dates you told me about?”
Instinctively, I reached for my pocket, but quickly realized I was wearing Aislin’s skirt. The piece of paper with the list of dates was tucked away in the pocket of my jeans, which yes, of course, Aislin had thrown into the washing machine. “Ah, crap.”
Laylen turned, spatula in hand. “What’s the matter?”
“The list is in the pocket of my jeans,” I explained. “The ones Aislin threw in the washing machine.”
He cursed under his breath. “Well, I think it’s probably a goner.”
“Crap!” I said again. “Now what am I supposed to do?”
The pan hissed, and he swiftly turned the oven temperature down. “Do you remember any of the dates on it?”
“Just one of them.” I sighed, frustrated that the list of dates was gone forever. “February 8th. And I only remember that one because it was the first day I’d felt the prickle and started to experience emotion.”
He moved the pan off of the burner. “Okay, that’s weird…Was there anything that seemed significant about any of the other dates?”
I shook my head. “Nope. They all seemed random except for the February 8th one.”
Shaking his head, he took a plate out of the cupboard. “It just doesn’t make sense. The list of dates. The prickle. If Alex’s theory about how you lost your emotions is true, then how would a prickly feeling be able to jump start your feelings?” He scooped some eggs onto the plate. “You know what it sou
nds like, right?”
“No.”
“Like magic.”
“Magic,” I said very slowly. “Like witch magic.” Like Aislin’s witch magic?
He slid the plate of eggs across the counter to me. “Maybe, but it could be something else. In our world there are a ton of things that would be able to wipe out a person’s ability to feel.”
I was just about to take a bite of my eggs, but his words made me drop my fork. “You think they wiped out my emotions.”
“It’s possible, but like I said, there are tons of possibilities. With what you’ve told me, though, I’m starting to think that some kind of magic was involved.”
I wasn’t hungry anymore. With all the stomachaches I was getting lately, I wondered if I was getting an ulcer.
“Gemma are you okay? You look a little pale.”
“I’m fine.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “My stomach just feels a little queasy.”
“Food looks that bad, huh?” He joked, trying to lighten the mood.
I summoned a small smile. “No, it looks really good.” I took a bite. It did taste good.
Laylen scrapped the leftover bits and pieces of egg out of the pan and into the garbage, and then rinsed the pan off in the sink.
“You’re not eating,” I asked, scooping up another forkful of eggs.
He shut off the faucet. “No…I don’t eat.”
“Oh.” I felt so stupid. Of course he didn’t eat. He was a vampire after all. “Gotcha.”
I ate my eggs and watched him with curiosity as he wiped down the countertops and stove. If you’d have asked me a day ago whether I would’ve ever thought that I’d be sitting in the kitchen with a vampire, eating eggs, all while trying to unravel the secrets that belonged to a group of people whose mission it was to save the world, I’d have told you no. Then I would’ve run for my life because I’d have thought you were a total psychopath.
“Laylen,” I dragged my fork through my eggs. “Can I ask you a question?”
He tossed aside the towel he’d been wiping the counters off with and turned to face me. “Sure. What’s up?”
I hoped I wasn’t crossing a line here. “How exactly did you get turned in to a vampire?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, muscles flexing, and leaned back against the counter, looking confused. “I don’t….I can’t remember.”
“Is that how it normally works?” I shoved another forkful of eggs into my mouth.
He shook his head. “Memory loss isn’t a side effect from getting bit. Something else had to of happened to me…the only thing I can remember about that night is coming out of a club alone and thinking I heard a noise from behind me. When I turned around, everything went black. I’m not sure if I blacked out or what, but when I did come to, I was sprawled out in alley with a bite mark on my neck.” He pointed at the immortality mark on his forearm. “And of course this lovely little thing was on my arm. It took me a few days before I figured out I’d been bitten by a vampire. I started getting all of these weird…cravings. But luckily, because I was a Keeper to begin with, the cravings were fairly easy to control.” He made his way around the island and took a seat on a barstool next to mine. “What’s really strange is that I’ve been told by other vampires that the change is supposed to be this big, memorable experience, yet I can’t remember a single thing about it.”
I had a flashback to when Alex had opened up one of shoji doors back at the Black Dungeon, and I’d witnessed the vampire about to bite the seemingly willing man. My gut instinct told me not to ask, but curiosity got the best of me. “Do humans let vampires bite them?”
His eyes widened. “Wha—why would you ask that?”
They say curiosity killed the cat. “Because when we were in the Black Dungeon, and Alex and I were running from the Death Walkers, he opened a door and there was a woman vampire getting ready to bite a man. And the man seemed…well, he seemed really relaxed for someone who was just about to get bit.”
By the look on his face, I could tell I was making him uncomfortable. “Yeah…some people do.”
“Why?” I scrapped the last of my eggs off of my plate. “Wouldn’t that mean they’d turn into a vampire themselves.”
He shook his head. “That’s not how it works. They’d have to bite you, and then you’d have to drink their blood. Really, it’s this whole big ordeal. See, and there’s another problem with me turning into a vampire. I know I wouldn’t voluntarily drink vampire’s blood.”
“That does seem strange...” About as strange as me not being able to remember the details of my life. Hmmm…are we seeing a connection here? “So when you turned into a vampire, did you have to die or anything?” The reason I’d asked was because in a few of the vampire-themed books I’ve read, the humans who would drink the vampires blood would have to die right after in order to turn into one.
“No, I had to die,” he said charily.
I choked on my eggs, bits and pieces spewing from my mouth and nose. Ewe…so gross. “You died?” I coughed.
“Yeah, but I don’t remember that part either. I just know that I had to die in order to be what I am now,” he said with a matter-of-fact attitude.
I eyed him over, taking note of his pale skin, his extremely red lips, and his abnormally bright blue eyes. As bad as this was going to sound, I had to admit, for a dead guy, he looked pretty good.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “So I still don’t get it. Why would someone let a vampire bite them?”
He gave a quiet laugh. “You really ask a lot of questions, don’t you?”
“Sorry,” I said, feeling stupid.
“No, it’s okay.” He took a deep breath, which puzzled me. I mean if he was dead, then why was he breathing? But since he’d just pointed out that I ask a lot of questions, I decided to stick a tack in that one for now. “Human’s let vampires bite them for a few different reasons. There’s the whole thrill of the danger that being bit brings. Sometimes it’s out of sheer curiosity. But most of the time, people do it to stimulate their…desires”
Okay, so I’ve felt embarrassed before, but never absolutely mortified. Wow. It had been awhile since I’d felt the prickle. I could feel my face heating up, so I let pieces of my hair drift down across my face.
“Yeah…so anyways,” Laylen said, in an attempt to change the subject and remove the awkward silence that had gripped the air. “Going back to that prickle thing you were talking about. Do you feel it every time you experience an emotion? Or does it just happen every once and awhile?”
“It only happens when I experience a new emotion,” I told him and then shivered, suddenly feeling cold.
He considered this. “Hmm…I don’t think I’ve heard of anything like that. But seeing as that there are hundreds of different forms of magic out there, there are a lot of things I haven’t heard of.”
“So how can we find out?” I shivered again. It was getting really cold.
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Are you cold?”
I rubbed my hands up and down my arms. “I’m freezing. Aren’t you?”
“I always run cold.” He glanced around the kitchen, and then he jumped up from the stool and sprinted over to the window.
“What are you looking at?” I stood up and walked over beside him. “Is there something out there?”
“What the—” He jumped back, curse words flying. “How the heck did they find us?”
“What are you…Oh!” I panicked. “The Death Walkers are here!”
He looked at me, his beautiful bright blues eyes flooding with a sea of fear. “Yeah, there right outside.”
Chapter 24
“Shouldn’t we be hiding or something?” I asked Laylen.
After discovering a swarm of Death Walkers marching across the desert toward the house, Laylen had grabbed me by the arm and sprinted down the hall back to the room where Alex and Aislin had transported from. Then he’d started throwing books off of the shelves. What was the purpo
se of this, I couldn’t tell you. Maybe he was having a momentarily lapse in sanity—too much stress or something. I don’t know
But what I did know was that I was freaking out.
“Laylen!” I hollered over the thudding of the books hitting the floor. “What are you doing?!” A book flew straight at me, and I had to dodge to the side to avoid getting smacked in the face by it.
“There’s a key somewhere around here…” He glanced inside a book and tossed it on the floor, “To a trapdoor just below that rug.” He nodded at a black and red checkered rug on the floor. “We can hide you there until…” He chucked a book over his shoulder and it landed on the floor right in front of my feet.
“Until what?” I asked anxiously. Jeez, would he just finish a sentence already. There were tons of Death Walkers heading right for us, burning with the desire to kill me.
He ripped an old leather-bound book from the shelf and flipped it open. “Until I can lead them away from here…get you out of dan…” His blue eyes lit up as he plucked a small, silver object out of the inside of the cover. He dropped the book on the floor and hurried over to me. “Here we go.” He held up the silver object, which as it turned out was a key.
“What’s it for?” I asked, my voice taking on that high, pitchy sound that seemed to come out whenever I was in a stressful situation. I flitted a quick glance over at the window, wondering how close the Death walkers were, but couldn’t see anything because of the curtains. “Laylen, I really think—”
“Just a second.” He went over to the rug and flipped it over. There was a small square carved in the hardwood floor that had a key hole and an indent for a handle. It looked like one of those trapdoors used on stages back in the olden days. He knelt down and slipped the key into the keyhole. Click and then he raised the door up. “Hurry up and get inside.”
Was he kidding me? I stared down at the mysterious dark hole, my feet glued to the floor. “You want me to do what?”
“Get inside and hide.”
I stole a glance back at the curtain-covered widow. The air was getting chillier by the second. Goose bumps dotted my arms and legs. They had to be getting close.
The Fallen Star (Fallen Star Series) Page 22
