“Ian, I’m sorry,” I tried to find the right words. “That doesn’t mean you should sacrifice yourself—”
“Trust me, Bristol, I have no desire to get killed. I’m very much in love with Hunter, and I want a very long, wonderful life with her. So, yes, I want to live, but I also want to beat this thing once and for all—for her, and for you, and for Seth—for all of us.
“I promise you,” Ian continued. “I plan on doing everything I can to survive and I will fight to my last breath. But if something did happen, I believe my—well, obsession, for lack of a better word, will be enough to anchor me to this world and help me find you on the other side. Trust me, it’s not my first choice. Now, I need your word that you won’t ever say anything to Hunter.”
I shook my head. “I can’t do that. This is Hunter. If she asked me the right question, how can I even hope to get away with lying?”
Everyone in the room nodded.
“Fair enough,” Ian said, holding up a hand. “Just don’t volunteer anything. Okay?”
I hated Ian for the position he was putting me in, but what could I do? At the same time I loved him for being so brave and for loving Hunter so much. I nodded.
Uncle Mark had the boys put away their video game. I asked what the plan was, but was told that they’d rather wait to tell me.
Simon and Zack came walking over to us.
“Dad,” Simon said. “I wanted to ask you and Mr. McKnight a few questions.”
Varick stood next to my uncle, and urged the children to proceed.
“We’re worried about Seth,” Simon said. “You can keep him safe, right?”
“We’re doing everything possible,” Uncle Mark said. “We’re playing it close to the vest, but he’ll be safe.”
“What does that mean?” Zack asked.
“It is a term from the game of poker,” Varick explained. “It means that we are keeping many of our plans a secret. However, Seth will be far removed from where the danger is. And we plan of having protection there as well. As you know, both Payne and Archer will be with him; as will armed guards. Seth will be perfectly safe.”
Simon looked towards Zack.
“You’re sure?” Zack asked. “You promise?”
Varick sighed. “I can only promise that everything that can be done,” Varick said. “Nothing is more important to me then Seth’s safety.”
The boys looked to their father.
“I agree,” Uncle Mark said. “I believe he’ll be safe.”
There was another look between the two boys, this time followed by a nod. It was the nod that made me nervous.
“Okay,” Simon said. “So we’ll all be safe there.”
Now I saw a look of shock and horror between Uncle Mark and Varick. Grandpa, who was close by, smiled to himself. The boys had played that well.
“The plan,” Uncle Mark said, folding his arms. “Was for you to go with Hunter and a few of the other kids. There’s no reason for you to be there.”
“Yes there is,” Simon said, who mirrored his father’s pose by folding his arms as well. “Seth is a part of our family. We have to stick together. And if you send us away, what does that say to him? That he’s not as safe as you want him to think he is?”
“Or worse,” Zack put in as Uncle Mark looked like he was about to object. “That he’s not as important as us?”
Another look passed between Uncle Mark and Varick, this one a combination of worry mixed with bemused admiration.
“Let me think for a moment,” Uncle Mark said. “Go take Seth and get your stuff together.”
The boys ran off with Seth.
Varick turned to Uncle Mark.
“It’s you choice,” Varick said. “We have taken every precaution.”
Uncle Mark nodded and looked towards me.
“We really have,” Uncle Mark said.
“I say let them stay,” Grandpa said. “It shows character. Makes me proud.”
“Of course we’re all proud of them,” I said. “But I just want them safe.”
“So do I,” Uncle Mark said. “And they’re in danger until we stop the Shaw’s. Which we’re going to do.”
“Except one,” I said. “We have to keep one alive.”
“I’m still not sure I buy that,” Payne said. “It doesn’t quite make sense to me.”
“I don’t trust anything from the Shaw’s,” I said. “But I don’t want to take a chance with Seth.”
“Agreed,” Uncle Mark said with a nod. “However, Simon and Zack are right. If we send them somewhere else, it’s telling Seth that he’s not safe. And that he isn’t as important as Simon and Zack. We’ve all fallen for that kid. And as long as everything goes as planned, Seth will fine.” Uncle Mark shook his head a sighed. “So everything is just going to go as we planned. There’s simply no other choice.”
I wasn’t too happy with Uncle Mark’s decision, but I decided that I would just have to assume that both he and Varick were confident that nothing would go wrong for a reason. I wanted to believe that nothing would go wrong, because any thoughts of anything else were too much to bear.
Grandpa himself seemed very confident. “Don’t worry,” He told me. “Nothing’s going to happen to them. Trust me. I’d stake my life on it.”
I wasn’t reassured by his boastful confidence. Grandpa was all too eager for the adventure back when we first rescued Seth. I know Uncle Mark had been very angry with him for that and even though I had gone along with everything, I couldn’t blame Uncle Mark. Archer had been seriously hurt in that little escapade; healed by Grandpa who still hadn’t recovered. Payne would have been killed if not for his ability.
But when it was all happening, I just had this instinct telling me we had to act right away. While I hadn’t gotten any feelings telling me something was going to go wrong, I also didn’t get anything telling me it was going to be okay. That was the problem with my abilities. Lack of a feeling of an impending doom didn’t equal an absence of an impending doom.
Grandpa could tell I wasn’t convinced. “What are you worried about? I’ve got your back.”
I arched an eyebrow at him. “Do you even know what that means?” I asked.
Payne and Archer laughed.
“It means,” Grandpa said. “That this is old school for me. When I was a young man, I used to get into the thick of it pretty good. Do you know what Varick and I used to do back in our day?”
I shrugged.
“I can imagine,” I said. “You two piling all of your friends on the back of the family brontosaurus, hitting the nearest village and going cruising for cave chicks.”
Varick smiled as he sat down. “Oddly, your version of events is not completely removed from the truth.”
A man in a black suit knocked on the doorframe. Varick nodded casually towards the young man who then entered and approached Varick. Leaning down, the man whispered something to Varick. If you weren’t watching, you wouldn’t have seen his eyebrows go up in surprise, quickly replaced by a grin of amusement at whatever news Varick had just been told.
However, within seconds Varick had his poker face back on and nodded to the young man who left the room.
Grandpa, who had completely missed all of this, was still going on and on about the olden days.
“Yeah,” Grandpa said. “Varick and I were what you called a couple of bad-asses back then. Most people in town were a little scared of us.”
Varick shook his head.
“Gregory, you are over exaggerating.”
“Am I?” Grandpa asked. “I don’t think so. We were breaking hearts and taking names, and everyone in town knew it. Just admit it. There wasn’t a single person who would take us on.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” A woman I had never seen entered the room. She looked like an old, exotic movie star, wearing a red dress with a white flower pattern on it that flowed around her elegant frame. Her hair was bright red, and her eyes danced with glee. She glided into the room, sending Grandpa a
smirk that clearly terrified him.
“Rose, so good to see you again,” Varick said. “Allow me to introduce you to your niece, Bristol. Bristol, this is your great aunt Rose.”
Aunt Rose’s eyes settled on me. As she walked over, I pictured her taking me into her arms for a long, warm hug. Instead, she put two palms on either side of my face and examined me from all sides.
Shrugging, Rose said, “She’ll do.”
“Great,” Grandpa let out a sigh. “We’re doomed.”
Chapter Eighteen
Location B
I was taken aback, to say the least. I knew I had an Aunt Rose. I’d seen a few pictures of her growing up, but I had never met her. Of course, I’d never met any of my aunts, uncles, cousins or grandfather until coming to Spirit over a year ago, but most of them had crawled out of hiding at this point. This one had stayed hidden.
“So?” Grandpa hobbled over. “Rosie, why have you decided to grace us with your presence all of a sudden?”
Aunt Rose arched an eyebrow at him.
“I decided it was time to meet my niece,” she said. “Not to mention the rest of my family. Besides, maybe I missed your sparkling personality.” She took a long look at Grandpa and his cane. “What happened to you? You look wobblier.”
“Never mind me,” Grandpa barked. “Why all of a sudden? You didn’t bother to show up when we buried her parents. You didn’t bother to put in an appearance when Mark’s wife got killed, or even my wife. So why now?”
Aunt Rose looked Grandpa up and down.
“My, my, you’ve gotten grumpier—and that’s saying something. I should be asking why you’re here.”
“Me?” Grandpa looked highly insulted. “You may not know this, since you decided you were too good to be a part of our family, but Bristol’s been living with us since her parents were killed. I’m here because she and Seth are in trouble. That’s what family does.”
“Good to know,” Aunt Rose said. “What I mean is, why are you here? In one of Varick’s fifteen houses. The last I heard, you had written him off as, and I quote, nothing but a giant ego with more moustache than common sense.”
Varick slanted a look towards Grandpa, who turned red.
“Not that he didn’t have a few interesting descriptions of you as well,” Aunt Rose added. “Varick, dear, didn’t you once call my older brother a cross between Archie Bunker and Oscar the Grouch?”
This time, Grandpa glared at Varick, who simply smiled.
“Aunt Rose,” Uncle Mark said. “It’s good to see you after all this time, but could you please not wind these two up? I know it was always a favorite pastime of yours, but this really isn’t the time.”
Aunt Rose walked over to Uncle Mark and patted his cheek before leaning in and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
“I’ll try to behave,” Aunt Rose said. “Although what fun that will be I have no idea.” She actually tweaked Uncle Mark’s nose.
“So, why are you here?” Grandpa asked. “Really.”
Aunt Rose went over to a couch and sat down, crossing her legs. She fluttered her eyelashes as Grandpa and smiled.
“Isn’t the fact that I’m here enough reason to celebrate?”
“Rose,” Grandpa grumbled.
She waved her hand at Grandpa and pursed her lips in a sort of smile. “Oh, stop. I’m here to help.”
Grandpa looked doubtful. “Why now?”
Aunt Rose shrugged.
“I’m here. I’ve missed my family. I should never have stayed away for such a long time, you know. But I was just so upset over it all – I had to leave. And now I’m back. You’re welcome.”
“I’m welcome?” Grandpa’s eyes were growing wide in frustration. I could almost see imaginary steam coming from his ears.
Aunt Rose smiled sweetly, and then looked right at me. “Bristol, I’ve heard that you’ve taken up with one of Varick’s grandsons. Which one of these cutie pies is it?”
She looked toward Archer and Payne, who seemed unsure what to make of this new development.
Payne was doing his best to hide the look of terror on his face. Archer made sure to point to his cousin.
Biting the bullet, Payne walked over and took my hand.
“Aunt Rose,” I said. “This is Payne.”
She looked at us together and although her smile stayed firmly in place, I felt a strong wave of sadness overcome her before she pushed it aside, and turned back to Varick.
“So, I understand that there’s a little boy who needs our help.”
“You understand?” Grandpa echoed. “How exactly did you hear all of this?”
“I told her,” Ian said. He came into the room with Hunter in tow.
“You?” I said. “I didn’t even know her until a few minutes ago.”
Aunt Rose smiled and got up to greet Ian.
“This young man found me in my cabin,” Aunt Rose explained as she pulled Ian into a hug, then took a moment to fawn over Hunter. “I found him sitting out on my front porch one morning. Actually, several mornings ago. He was very persistent in wanting to speak to me. He told me that my niece was not only dating a McKnight, but that you,” she glanced at Grandpa again, “had accepted it. I just had to see that for myself.”
Grandpa looked like he was getting ready to respond when Payne walked over to him. Payne threw his arm around Grandpa and smiled.
“Are you kidding?” Payne said, smiling broadly. “He loves me.”
Slowly, a tide of laughter spread through the room. Everyone laughed, except Grandpa, who turned a bright shade of red and glared at Payne.
Payne slowly removed his arm and tip-toed away.
Aunt Rose spoke briskly. “Well, tell me what’s going on and how I can help.”
Grandpa looked skeptical.
“Just like that?” he asked. “You show up again, and we’re just supposed to let you tag along?”
Aunt Rose smiled sweetly.
“Yes, Greg,” she said. “Just like when we were children.”
Grandpa just rolled his eyes. Somewhere, mid-eye roll, his gaze landed on Hunter. I knew he was waiting for her signal.
“Rose, what are you up to?” Grandpa asked his sister.
Aunt Rose looked hurt by the question, but she seemed to accept it.
“We have a lot to catch up on, Greg. I should have been around. I’ve wanted to come back and see you. I kept coming up with reasons to drop by, and then I’d come up with reasons not to—I am sorry for that, but I really do want to help. I’ve missed my family.”
There was a tense moment as Aunt Rose waited for Grandpa to say something. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hunter give Grandpa a quick nod.
Grandpa exhaled and visibly relaxed, walking over to his sister and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
“Well, I’m almost happy to see you,” he said. Aunt Rose beamed at him. “You’re an idiot for staying away so long, but I suppose I was a moron for giving you such a hard time.”
“Oh, dear,” Aunt Rose said. “You have changed. You’re a real softie these days.”
Grandpa gave a dry laugh. “Whatever. Just don’t take my things. Listen, we’re going to be on the move soon. Stay with Bristol and the boys.”
Aunt Rose nodded and smiled at me.
“I’d love to. It’ll give me time to get to know everyone.”
“Good,” Grandpa said. “These two,” he jabbed a thumb to indicate both Payne and Archer, “will be joining you.”
Aunt Rose gave them a half salute.
“Don’t worry.” She turned back to Grandpa. “I’ll be careful not to reveal any deep, dark family secrets.”
Grandpa sighed. “That’s up to you. Everyone in this room knows about everybody else in this room. Except for you.”
Shock registered on Aunt Rose’s face as her mouth dropped open into a perfect ‘O’.
“Don’t look at me that way,” Grandpa said. “Blame her.” He pointed at me before hobbling towards the door.
Aunt
Rose watched him go, with her mouth still open in utter awe. After Grandpa turned a corner with Varick, she glanced back at me.
“I really do have a lot of catching up to do.”
I’d never been one for parades. In all the time I had lived in New York City, I had never bothered to go see any of the multiple parades that marched through the city. I usually caught a few minutes on TV on days like Thanksgiving, but usually that was just until I flipped the channel to find something more interesting. I’d never seen the point of watching a bunch of people make their way down the street.
Yet now, here I was in a parade of my own.
Of course, we weren’t walking. Seventeen cars – some SUVs, some limos – had formed a large caravan. These cars were black, nondescript and could withstand an attack from a small army.
People stared as we passed by. I imagine they wondered if there had been a death in the McKnight family they hadn’t heard about. A few people actually waved at us. Zack waved back. When I explained to him that nobody on the outside could see him through the dark glass, Zack stopped waving and started to make faces and stick his tongue out at them.
I was in the limo by the window seat, Seth by my side, and Payne across from him. Sitting with us, Simon was cut off from the world, his eyes glued to a handheld video game, and earbuds in his ears so we wouldn’t have to hear whatever little virtual creatures were killing each other.
Aunt Rose sat across from me, jutting her chin toward the McKnights. “That boy was telling the truth, wasn’t he? Your boyfriend here really knows about my brother’s ability?”
Payne nodded. “He used it on me about a year ago, and on my cousin Archer just a couple of months ago. He knows about ours, as well.”
Aunt Rose shook her head.
“My, my,” she said. “Our dearly departed father must be rolling in his grave. He used to go on and on about never trusting a McKnight.”
I felt my spine stiffen. “Aunt Rose, we trust each other – Payne, Hunter, Archer, their grandfather, and a few others I’m close with. They trust us. Is that going to be a problem?”
Vision of Sacrifices Page 21
