by Gayla Twist
“I know,” I managed to say with my jaw trembling. “But you’re sure he can’t come back?” I peered out of the drainage ditch, half expecting the vampire to dive at me from out of the sky. “He’s really dead?”
“Yes.” Jessie extended a hand toward me to help me out of the little tunnel.
“But he came back before. You killed him before, and he still came back.”
“No.” Jessie shook his head, his full lips pulled into a tight frown. “We fought before, and I ejected him off Vanderlind land, but I didn’t kill him. I should have, but I didn’t.”
I tentatively reached a hand out and allowed Jessie to help me to my feet. As soon as I was upright, my legs turned to spaghetti, and I fell into his arms, crying. Jessie just held me, stroking my hair, softly whispering, “Aurora. Oh, my darling. I am so sorry.”
I don’t know how long I cried, but eventually my tears dried, and I was able to stand on my own two feet. “Thank you,” I mumbled. “I feel better now.” I was embarrassed by how completely I’d lost it, but Viktor was so frightening and his death was so horrible that it had overwhelmed me.
Jessie loosened his grip slightly but didn’t release me. “Please don’t thank me,” he insisted in a hoarse whisper. “It’s my fault he came after you.”
I was ashamed of myself and unable to meet his eye, but his words were so choked with emotion that I snuck a peek up at him. There was a splash of tears across his prominent cheekbones. I reached up and blotted one with the pad of my thumb, then stuck it in my mouth to see if vampire tears still tasted like salt water. I took comfort in the fact that they did. My gesture somehow upset him, and he closed his eyes so very tightly, hiding his face into my hair. “I couldn’t stand it,” he whispered. “I couldn’t stand it if I lost you again.”
I didn’t pull away, but he must have felt my body stiffen. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “I know you’re not Colette.” He leaned back to look at my face. “You do look remarkably like her, but I know she’s not you. I just,” he turned his eyes away. “I just care about you a lot and couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to you.”
His words made my heart sing. I felt like I’d plunged into a pool of champagne. But I was quickly brought down to earth with the memory that he’d stopped seeing me without explanation. “If you care about me, then why did you disappear without even telling me why?”
“I...” Jessie was surprised by my question. His strong arms were still wrapped around me, and he squeezed me a little closer. “I heard that Viktor was looking for revenge, and I didn’t want to put you at risk. I didn’t want to alarm you, but I sent Viggo to keep you safe. Didn’t he tell you?”
“No. He just said something like, ‘Mr. Wanderlind told me to vatch you so I vatch you.’ I thought you’d sent him to…” I felt like an idiot to admit it, but forced myself to say, “I thought you sent him to keep me from stalking you or something.”
“What?” Jessie was incredulous. It took him a moment to process what I’d just said. Then he smiled, his eyes twinkling. “Viggo’s never been good at communicating. I should have told you more in my note, but...” and I swear he started to blush. “I wasn’t sure how you felt about me.”
I couldn’t explain my feelings. I couldn’t summon words that made sense. I just knew that there was a part of me that loved Jessie Vanderlind unconditionally. It must have shown in my eyes because his lips found mine and we were kissing. His lips were cool but firm. The pleasure they gave me took my breath away. I was in ecstasy. My whole body quivered with passion.
“Oh, Lettie,” he whispered into my mouth.
Chapter 21
We both froze, still in each other’s arms but decades apart. He released me, and I took a step backwards, even though my legs still trembled beneath me. “Aurora,” I told him.
Remorse was etched across his perfect face. “I hate myself for saying that. I know you’re not her. I really do. I’m just so used to being in love with her that it’s hard to let go. Even with how I feel about you.”
“It’s okay,” I told him, and on some level it was true. It was never good to have the boy you were in love with say another girl’s name, but if my dreams meant anything, I was somehow connected to Colette Gibson. “There’s a lot I need to tell you about Aunt Colette and me.”
“I’m ready to talk about it whenever you are,” Jessie said. “But...”
“What?”
“There are a few things I should do for Viktor now that he’s gone. Even though he wanted to kill you, I still need to gather his bones or whatever I can find and make sure he has a proper final sleep.”
“Did he have any family?” I gulped. “I mean, you know, a vampire family?” I seriously did not want a whole line of Viktor’s relatives coming after me for my stubbornness about not wanting to become a vampire snack.
“He may have some descendents still around, but he wasn’t from one of our families or anything, if that’s what you mean.” Jessie ran his hand through his hair a few times. “Still, the Bishops won’t be happy. There’s nothing I can do about that. But no, Viktor was always a bit of a loose cannon. He didn’t have too many friends.”
It was then that I realized that I was a horrible friend. Blossom was probably hogtied somewhere, and I hadn’t even thought of her since I first started fleeing Viktor. I grabbed Jessie by the arm. “We have to find Blossom. Viktor kidnapped her to force me to meet him here. I have no idea where she is.”
Jessie patted my hand to reassure me. He lifted his head and sniffed the air. “I don’t smell her. There is a dead body nearby, but I don’t think it’s her.”
“What?” I practically shouted. “A dead... You don’t think it’s her?”
Following his nose, Jessie led me back to the pier. “Stay here,” he said, releasing my hand. He disappeared under the pilings.
Without him, I felt vulnerable. The sky had cleared, and the shore of the river was visible under the nearly full moon. Jessie reappeared what must have been only a few minutes later, but it felt like forever. “Who is it?” I asked, begging inside my head for it not to be Blossom.
“A transient,” Jessie said. “I don’t think Viktor killed him. I think he died of heart failure. He’s been there a few days.”
“Oh.” I felt both relief and compassion. “That’s sad.” I wondered if there was a way I could inform the police anonymously. It was awful to think about dying like that and having nobody know or care.
“I’ll have Viggo report it in the morning,” he told me as if reading my mind. “Right now, we need to think about Blossom. You don’t have any idea where she is? Where did you last see her?”
“We were at a party at the Tib.” I wasn’t sure if Jessie knew what the Tib was, but he didn’t react either way, so I just kept going. “She hasn’t been getting along with her boyfriend, and he said she’d left, but I’m the one that drove her, so I don’t know how she would have gone anywhere.”
“Have you tried calling her?” Jessie asked.
I shook my head. “Viktor arranged it for somebody to steal my phone.”
Jessie shook his head, cursing under his breath. When he was able to speak civilly, he said, “So, she might actually be fine. She might even be home. We can just go to her house and see if she’s there.”
My stomach was clenched as I thought about the time I spent enthralled in Jessie’s arms when I should have been searching for my friend. “Let’s hurry,” I said, grabbing him by the coat to urge him forward toward my car.
“Where does she live?” he asked, digging in his heels a bit like people do when you try to hurry them. “What’s her address?”
“I don’t know her address,” I told him, tugging on his arm even harder. “She lives on the corner of Oak and Marigold, but don’t worry about it. I’ll drive.”
“Hold on,” he said, sweeping me into his arms and then launching into the air.
A small shriek escaped my lips before I could stop it. I was not afraid o
f heights in terms of standing on top of a tall building or looking out over a cliff, but it was a whole different thing to be flying through the air without an airplane surrounding me. Jessie was grinning from ear to ear as I wrapped around him with both my arms and my legs. “You don’t have to worry,” he assured me. “I won’t let you fall.”
It felt like we were at Blossom’s door almost instantly. “I’ll wait over in the shadows,” Jessie said as he set me down on my two feet.
I gave myself a second to regain my composure before climbing the steps to the Costers’ porch. Without my phone, I didn’t even know what time it was, but the light in Blossom’s bedroom was still on, so I rang the doorbell. Making sure my best friend was safe trumped potentially annoying her mom.
I saw someone pull back the curtain a smidge and peek out to see who was outside. It was only common sense not to open the door to any old stranger in the middle of the night. A moment later, Blossom yanked open the door. “Aurora,” she exclaimed. “What’s going on?”
“Blossom!” I shouted. “What the hell are you doing here? Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Calm down.”
“No, I won’t calm down,” I informed her. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I thought you got attacked or kidnapped or something.”
“No.” Blossom shrugged sheepishly. “I just broke up with Jimmy and felt like going home.”
“You could have told me!” I felt all my fear for her life bubbling over into anger. “I’ve been in the woods looking for you for hours. I could have been killed, and it would have been all your fault.”
“Sorry.” She didn’t even have the good grace to at least look a little abashed. “I saw you talking to Fred and didn’t want to interrupt. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”
“I was running through the woods, screaming for the cops.”
“What?” Blossom made a confused face. “Why?”
“Some kid told me he saw some guy grab you. Then someone said the cops were busting the Tib.”
“Wait,” Blossom interrupted. “The cops busted the Tib?”
“It turned out to be a false report, but everyone scattered, and I couldn’t get anyone to help, and then I was running through the woods like a nut job shouting for the cops. All because you didn’t want to interrupt me talking to some guy. Does that make any sense to you?”
“Well, not after all that happened,” Blossom admitted. “Thanks for trying to save me, anyway. Even if I didn’t need it. Sorry if you were freaked.”
“Yeah... well... you know, we’re best friends.” My anger was fizzling out.
“Where’s your car?” Blossom asked, scanning the street in front of the house.
“Oh.” I turned and looked behind me. “It’s around the corner.” I waved in a vague direction.
“Why’d you park it there?”
“Uh...” I really didn’t have a good answer. “I don’t know. I just did.” Before she could question me further, I added, “I’d better get going before my mom has a freak-out of her own.” I hurried back down the steps. “Goodnight.”
I was acting weird. Blossom would have picked up on that. But she probably would just credit it to me being mad at her or something else involving her. She could be surprisingly self-absorbed, but for once, it was to my benefit.
“How’d that go?” Jessie asked, stepping out of the shadows as I headed down the drive.
“She was completely oblivious to any danger whatsoever,” I said, walking quickly to get out of eyesight of her house.
“That’s good.” He fell into step next to me.
“Yeah, she left the party without telling me. I’m both furious and relieved.”
“That seems reasonable.”
I kept walking, my pace brisk, my fist clenched. It had been a stressful night, and I needed to release some of my anxiety and anger with a little physical exercise. Jesse stayed by my side, not saying anything, just letting me have a moment.
After about six blocks, he asked, “Would you like to keep walking, or should I take you back to your car?”
This made me stop as I considered what he was asking. “Would we fly there?” I asked hesitantly.
“Of course.” He grinned, his eyes twinkling. “It’s really the only way to travel.”
The idea of him sweeping me in his arms and whisking me over the rooftops was enough to wash away all the fear and fury I was feeling. “Okay,” I agreed, feeling suddenly shy.
Jessie’s smile grew even broader. “Good.” He stepped closer. “Now put your arms around me.”
I knew I was blushing deeply, but I inched forward a little and lifted my arms to wrap them around his neck. It was so like an embrace that I think I may have inadvertently tipped my head back a little and closed my eyes. The next thing I knew, the earth was falling away from beneath my feet, and the wind was whistling through my hair. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.
At first, I kept my eyes closed and my face pressed into Jessie’s chest. After a few moments, his strong arms wrapped around me gave me courage, and I was able to peek out. The sky had cleared, and a smattering of stars decorated the night. The houses and buildings were the size of cars, and the cars were like matchboxes. “We’re up so high,” I gasped.
“I don’t want anyone to see us,” was his reply. “And besides,” he said, his voice all husky, “I like it when you cling to me.”
“I swear I’d still cling to you if we were only ten feet off the ground,” I informed him, earning a throaty chuckle for my efforts.
Jessie set me gently down next to my car. I hated to let go of him, but after several seconds, I couldn’t make the excuse that I was unsteady on my feet anymore, and I reluctantly unwound my arms from his neck. “You had something you wanted to tell me about Colette?” he said.
I nodded. “I do, but I also really have to get home. I don’t want my mom to worry.”
“And it’s a conversation that will take longer than a couple of minutes?”
“I think so,” I told him. “And I probably should show you something I have in my room.” If I had my journal in front of me it would help as I tried to untangle the meaning behind my dreams for Jessie.
“Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow night?” Jessie suggested.
I hated to say goodnight, but he was probably right. “Okay,” I agreed.
“You’re safe to drive?”
I thought about it. I was still pretty shaken up from everything. “Do vampires drive?” I asked, hesitantly.
“Some do,” Jessie said with a solemn frown. Then he broke into a grin. “And I happen to be one of them. I love to drive.”
I handed him my keys, delighted that the end of our evening had a brief stay of execution. “Do you know how to get there if you’re not flying?” I asked in a teasing voice.
He turned his head to the side to scrutinize me out of the corner of his eye. “I think I can figure it out.”
Jessie actually walked around to the passenger’s side to open the car door for me. That was a first. I’ve been on dates where I’m lucky if I’m in the car completely before the guy starts driving.
“This car is practically as old as me,” Jessie said as he started the VW up.
“It’s not that old,” I exclaimed, elbowing him in the ribs.
“Just barely,” he replied.
We drove along in companionable silence for a few minutes, both of us grinning. I finally broke it with, “How did you know where I was? With Viktor, I mean. How did you find me?”
“Viggo,” he said simply. A car passing us in the opposite direction flashed their lights. “What do you think that’s all about?” he wondered aloud.
“Most people need their lights on to see when it’s dark,” I said, reaching over and flipping on the Bug’s headlights. “I assume that’s not the case with vampires.” When he didn’t give me a response, I returned to, “So, you were saying about Viggo?”
“I told
him to still stick close to you. Even after you called the cops on him.” He glanced over at me, giving me a stern look.
I shrugged it off. “If you’re going to assign someone to be a bodyguard, you should at least inform the person he is supposed to be guarding.”
“Anyway,” Jessie said, choosing to ignore my comment, “he caught a glimpse of Viktor slipping through the woods tonight and figured things were about to get ugly.”
“Aah.” The conversation where the boy told me that a SWAT team was about to descend on the Tib suddenly made sense. Viggo could have easily masqueraded as an entire SWAT team and then some.
About a block from my house, I said, “You’d better pull over here.”
Rather than question me or ignore my decision, like a lot of guys would, Jessie pulled quickly over to the curb. Leaving the engine running, he turned to look at me. “What’s up?”
“If my mom looks out the window when I pull in, I don’t want to have to explain who the guy was driving my car.”
Jessie’s lips twitched slightly to the side. I couldn’t tell if he was suppressing a grin or irritation. “I guess this is goodnight then.”
I wanted desperately for us to kiss goodnight, but I wasn’t sure if Jessie felt the same way. Our first kiss had been both wonderful and heart wrenching. Still, that didn’t mean I wasn’t willing to try again. “Goodnight,” I whispered, leaning just a fraction of an inch toward him.
Jessie was staring deep into my eyes. It was obvious he knew what I wanted. “Aurora, I...” he stuttered.
“What?”
He cleared his throat. “I haven’t eaten in a really long time.” With that, he was out of the car. “See you tomorrow night,” he whispered before taking wing.
It was disappointing, but understandable. I was all for kissing, but kissing might have led to snacking. Not a good idea. I was a little afraid to get out of the car once my vampire protector was gone. The street was so dark and quiet. Instead, I awkwardly climbed over the stick shift and then drive the rest of the way home.
“Where the hell have you been?” Mom practically shouted as I walked in the door from the garage. “I was about to call the police.”
