Though far from tired when we arrived back at the hotel, I was, however, grimy, dusty, and filthy. Everyone went their separate ways to clean up; and then, as if we all expected no one to be exhausted after the events of this evening, we regrouped in the living room area. And by no one being exhausted, I meant Riley and me, since we were the only ones who actually slept.
We sat around on the plush couches with the dagger and piece of paper containing the spell in front of us. James was reading the paper, and studying it intently. I was staring him down, waiting for him to speak or acknowledge something! He better share what that says! I could just imagine him keeping whatever it said to himself, rationalizing that the less I knew, the more protected I’d be.
"So?" Nick said, interrupting the silence and voicing what I was thinking.
"It's pretty simple.” James slowly looked up and shrugged. He seemed totally unaffected by the fact that everything we were working towards was now in our hands. “I don't know if we have to say it in German, or in English, but I would assume English would work since there aren't any instructions to the contrary."
“Ariya, how did you know this was it? Was it just sitting out somewhere?” he questioned.
There had been no time to reveal anything about my meeting with Ingrid, or how I came to know about the spell and dagger. I wasn’t sure how much I should tell James, without arousing his suspicion. With the amount of lying I intended to do, it seemed like a good idea to keep things as simple as possible, and that meant leaving Ingrid out.
“Riley couldn’t come with me into a room off the main area where you saw us go in. When I entered it, this was lying all wrapped up on something that looked like a nightstand. The room turned out to be a bedroom, so it must have been Ivan’s. It just seemed right for me to grab it,” I said, trying not to sound too flaky. It was almost the truth. The dagger was in the bedroom and I did find it.
Good job, Ariya, I silently pumped myself up.
"What's the spell?" I asked, eager to change the subject. It was something I needed to know, as Ingrid said, and I couldn't read the paper myself.
"It says, ‘Reverse the time you stole on Earth, reverse the magic and the curse, reveal the true self held within, return thy gifts to where they onest began.’"
Of course it rhymed. Ridiculous. No wonder people assumed those who believed that paranormal stuff truly exists were crazy. I began repeating it over and over, praying that I would remember all of it. Caroline's eyes were trained on me and I could almost see the wheels turning in her head.
The problem with concealing my true intentions was that I could never hide them very well from her. She managed somehow to remain in tune with my thoughts. Perhaps it was from living so closely with me for the past three years. Hoping to avoid drawing any attention to myself, that is, anymore than she was already doing, I decided to start talking.
"That sounds simple."
James's eyes narrowed on me. "Simple for us, yes." In his not so subtle manner, he was reiterating his presumption that I would not be the one to use this spell.
"So, now we just find Audrey and we're done?" Riley sounded hopeful and my heart nearly broke for him. He was wasting his time here with us when he should have been carefree and enjoying his life. He should have been job hunting, and meeting the right girl to marry or finally reconnecting with Helen if she were the right one, and starting his life. Instead, he was stuck here with us in this monster mess, which was entirely my fault.
"We need to be smarter about things. We'll start putting together a plan," James said, looking towards Nick, who nodded. "In the meantime, let's lie low here for a few days and regroup. Then we can head back to the U.S. I don’t like knowing that there are rumors of Ariya’s existence floating around in our world. Either Audrey or the Protectors went way too far with that. We also need to think about the best place to stay when we get home," James said in his most protective voice. He and Nick appeared to be having one of their silent conversations as they both shook their heads.
“It has been a long evening. Ariya and Riley, and you should rest.” We nodded, realizing we were hastily being dismissed so the big, bad vampires could talk about concocting a successful strategy.
James stood from the table, taking me by surprise when he followed me into the master suite. I looked at him curiously and he shut the doors behind him.
“I’m so proud of you, Ariya. You were very brave when you walked into an unknown situation to finish a job. You were perfect.” His eyes held mine, boldly and thoroughly captivating me.
“Thank you,” I squeaked out.
His gaze was unnerving especially after I became so distracted over the discovery of the dagger and the first glimpse of how my end would occur. Consequently, I hadn’t allowed my broken heart any time to show itself. Standing here with him would not help things, however.
James made a movement towards me, pulling me into his perfectly sculpted chest. “I know everything must feel strange now, but we will be okay. I care about you still, Ariya. We are going to eliminate the threat and you will be able to move on.”
He briefly rested his chin on top of my head and pulled away too suddenly. I cringed, immediately starved of the warm vibrations his voice created in my chest as he retreated. He brought his hands up to either side of my face and it took all the remaining strength I possessed not to turn my face and press into his hands harder, closing my eyes.
“You’ll be able to live again. The way you were always meant to,” he whispered before placing a kiss on my forehead and exiting the room. He didn’t look back.
I robotically got ready for bed and collapsed. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to live again. I barely had anytime left to live at all, depending on when we managed to get home and finish Audrey, of course. There was so much still left to do. So much of life I would never live or see. Goodbyes to all the people I loved and shared my life with that I still had to say. How could I say goodbye though? No one could know about my untimely demise.
I fell asleep that night, but only after creating a bucket list of things I still had to somehow do before I killed Audrey. Before I died.
Caroline bounded into the room the next morning. “We’re going out!” she yelled before jumping up and down. “We can go sightseeing again, and for fun this time, not for the purposes of another mission.” She grinned while yanking my arms up and tearing the blanket off me, having learned early on that removing my blanket was the only way to ensure my swift departure from a warm bed.
“The guys already ordered some food and once we finish eating, we’re leaving; so let’s go! It’s time to try and live a little.”
“I thought it was too dangerous still,” I said groggily.
“Well, since we have all that we need, we can always leave in a hurry if we have to.” She frowned and put her hands on her hips. “Up! Up! Up! We’re done living like this.” She raced out of my room as quickly as she appeared, like the true whirlwind she was.
I grinned despite my residual sleepiness. I admired her eagerness to do something normal and shook my head on my way to the bathroom to freshen up. Time to try and live a little. How true her words were.
Riley had already consumed his first helping of breakfast and was loading up his second plate, judging by the scarcity of food, when I sat down at the table. It was hard to tell exactly what it was since Riley hunched over it like he feared it was about to be snatched away from him at any moment.
“You’re an eating machine with all that food, Riley. You know, they say after college, your metabolism slows down quite a bit. You should be more careful,” I teased him as I pulled out my chair from under the dining room table.
He wrinkled his nose before tugging his shirt up to show off his well-defined six-pack. “Have you seen me lately? Come on now, Ariya! I’ve got plenty of time before this bod has to worry about struggling to stay in shape.”
I threw a biscuit at him for his boastful display, which made Caroline giggle. It was the fi
rst normal thing the three of us had done together in what felt like forever.
I continued grinning while listening to Caroline tease Riley as he shoveled huge mounds of food into his mouth.
"Ours?" We stopped laughing upon hearing Nick’s urgent tone.
My gaze shot over to him, wondering what he could have been referring to. James was looking steadily back at him and nodded. Less than ten seconds later, the doors to our hotel room flew open.
I gasped, jumping right out of my seat and shoving my chair back harder than I meant to as James casually walked around to block me. He didn't look frightened, or even alarmed at all by the intrusion. I instinctually reached for his back and rested my hands there.
A tall man dressed in all black walked through the doors rather arrogantly with his hands clasped behind his back, halting in front of James.
"James Rymer, you've been officially relieved of your duties as Protector of the current Bloodline Member, Ariya Adams. You have to come with me immediately."
My jaw dropped. "Excuse me?” I attempted to push James aside, which didn’t get me anywhere. “He's not going anywhere!" I walked around him, folding my arms across my chest at the stony-faced man confronting me.
"Yet again, I can see the attraction, James,” said another voice smoothly, one that sounded too familiar and which came from around the corner.
“Lukas?" James nodded his head and a moment later, he strode across the room and gave him a handshake, smiling. Lukas was staying at James’s parents’ house over winter break when we first searched for clues. That was before we knew for certain that Audrey was the one behind all the trouble.
"It's been some time, James, and now twice in one year," he said, smiling back at James in his feeble attempt to sound charismatic. It probably would not have failed either if his voice didn’t make my skin crawl, like I was being forcibly sold some junk from a poorly done infomercial.
"You're my replacement? Is the old man senile now, too? We thought he was just an asshole!" James laughed but I remained frozen in place and utterly stunned. He was taking this turn of events a little too casually for my comfort.
"I am, for now. Unless, of course, you can convince him otherwise, but rumor has it there are some secrets between the Rymers."
I didn’t like Lukas much the first time we met, and I definitely wasn’t about to allow him to protect me instead of James.
"I'm sorry to interrupt this reunion, but James isn't going anywhere!" Naturally, I sounded much braver than I felt. All the vampires looked at me at once, watching me, as if amused. It was more than a little unnerving.
"Unfortunately, sweetheart, you don't really have any choice," Lukas said, his eyes dancing with glee. “I’m not really bad company, I promise.”
I wrinkled my nose at the sweetheart comment, but let it go. There were more pressing issues with what he said and I could easily ignore his stupid pet name.
"We'll just see about that, won’t we?" I said before addressing the initial intruder. "Are you taking James somewhere in this hotel?"
The man looked towards Lukas as if seeking his approval before he nodded at me once.
"Great. I'll be joining you." I picked up a sweatshirt to put over the t-shirt that I slept in. "Guys, don't let me ruin your day of touring around Germany. Why don't you all go out together and we'll meet back up tonight for some more fun?" Caroline nodded, but now she was the one seeking James’s nod of approval. I noticed he was looking at Nick, probably mentally communicating again as they so often did.
"Shall we?" Lukas said, smirking as he held out his arm towards the doors leading from our hotel room. I walked out while James followed.
We marched to the elevator in silence and Lukas took us up just one floor. Of course, Marik was staying in the penthouse. When we walked into the new hotel room, James flopped down on the couch as if this were a regular occurrence: being barged in on and completely relieved of his duties. I huffed at him again, failing to understand the reason why he didn’t even try to fight or resist them for me.
Whatever, I thought, growing more irritated. I could handle this myself. Maybe he didn’t care if he were protecting me anymore, but I wasn’t keen to let anyone else in on the real reason why we were there. Besides, I had a bone to pick with Marik anyway.
"Where's Marik?" I demanded without bothering to sound sweet or courteous.
Lukas was watching me intently. "He's in the master suite, but he's not expecting you with James. I'm sure he'll be out in a minute. You can speak to him then."
Smiling smugly and not wanting to wait for Marik, I made my way towards the area that could only lead to the master suite. Yanking open the closed doors rather forcibly before locking them behind me, I turned to see Marik sitting in a chair. He was reading.
"Ariya." He glanced at me, but only for a moment, as if I were as insignificant as the reading material he tossed on the desk when I arrived. "Is there a valid reason you feel compelled to barge into my private quarters like this?"
"Oh, you know very well why I'm here! You can't take James away from me! I need his protection."
"I'm well aware of what you think you need from my son, but I won't allow this to continue any longer."
"Stop it!" I shouted, now furious at his flippant attitude towards me.
Lowering my voice, I tried to keep James from hearing the next part before I continued. "I did everything you asked me to. We aren't together anymore, and James thinks we will both be sticking to our ‘duties,’” I air-quoted with my fingers. “You won! You successfully manipulated me, as you knew you could. You knew exactly what to say to confirm my fears about James. Don't you get it? You won! So you don't have to take him away as my Protector now, too," I said unleashing my pent-up frustration.
"Were you or were you not left on your own with only one vampire to guard you for an extended period of time while making your way here to Germany?" he asked incredulously. “A vampire whom, might I add, is not considered senior enough to have taken that job on her own,” Marik leaned back, folding his hands in front of his face as if he had already won the argument.
"I was safe. James and Nick were the only ones in danger. They were making sure we weren't followed," I snarled through tightly clenched teeth.
"I can't imagine that it was the safest choice for you," Marik said emotionlessly.
"You don't know what we're up against. You’re making a rash judgment because you're primarily concerned with your precious reputation. You’re upset that you don’t know who our enemy is. You’re upset because you’re not in the loop, and not involved in any significant decisions. That’s what this is about, isn’t it? Don’t you dare pretend for a minute that this has anything to do with my safety!"
"Do you plan on telling me what it is you're so afraid of? Werewolves are easy enough to stop, so I know it can’t be just them," he said, trying to egg me on into an inadvertent admission.
"I don't trust you at all! So, no, I'm not telling you anything. But I swear, if you take James away from me, I won't survive. You told me before that when you doubted him the consequences were my grandmother and your father both died. Is your pride really so colossal that you'd willingly risk something so drastic again?" I countered his smugness with my own verbal slap in the face.
"Sit down!" he commanded, pointing to the bed.
I was so startled at his outburst that I fell directly onto the bed, slightly shocked.
"You don't know anything about why I am doing this, so don't pretend that you do."
That’s when I saw it. Pain. Just a tiny glimpse of it. He hid it very well, but it was there all the same, behind his callous attitude and flippant behavior towards those around him.
"Duty and love should always be kept separate. That's the way it has been, and how it always should be. You can't think clearly when your emotions enter the equation. Trust me! You’ll thank me later. Being in love with my son will only cause you both heartache. I have the power to stop it from happening, and I int
end to. There are many more important things to focus on here without this soap opera drama that you’ve concocted in that naïve, little head of yours."
His words should have hurt, abruptly putting me in my place, but something entirely different dawned on me. This was so much more than just observing a love affair from the sidelines. Marik was angry, but his anger didn’t seem to be directed at me anymore. It sounded more like the signature frustration of someone who had experienced what I was currently feeling. Did he once choose duty over someone in my line before? Or did someone in my line place duty over his love? If he were actually in love with someone, this whole thing made a lot more sense.
"Who in my line did you once love?" I asked, nervously awaiting his response.
His first reaction to my question said it all but he quickly masked his emotions again. That was it! I was right. Something must have happened to him. Maybe someone from my line broke his heart and he simply wanted to spare James from that pain.
"That is none of your business, Ariya! Those are the rules and James broke them. He must be punished. Stripping him of his chosen role is the appropriate punishment. My decision is final."
I heard a jiggle of the door handle.
"Ariya?" James's voice came through the door and he finally sounded concerned. Finally.
"I'm fine," I shouted before turning back to Marik. Whispering softly, I was hoping James couldn’t hear me as I started again, "I love him. I love him more than anything in this world and I let you manipulate me and indulge my fears so much that I lied to him. Now, he has let me go. The only one affected by our relationship anymore now is me."
"He would still be in danger then, if only because of your uncontrollable feelings."
"He would be anyway! You used my fear of him being targeted and killed to bribe me; but you know what I finally realized? That's his job! He would do that no matter what. He'd put himself in the first line of danger for me even if we weren't together. I had to nearly lose him twice without him ever knowing my true feelings. And you know what? I would take him back in a heartbeat if it was what he wanted. But that's not what he wants so don't worry, it's not going to happen. However, if it were solely up to me, I would rather spend my last day on Earth with him than spend the rest of my life without him."
Sacrificed Page 7
