Ageless

by Cege Smith

  “Yes,” Jeremiah said.

  “Why should I believe that?” Although she already believed him, she hated that it came so easily. With everything that had happened, she felt like he should justify what he was putting her through.

  “Because I can personally guarantee that no matter what my goals are, I would never put you in physical danger, Violet.” Jeremiah’s voice was strained, and now she turned to look up at him. “I have been keeping an eye on you ever since I found out where you were, as evidenced by the fact that I sent Margo to watch over you. I know that your grandparents were trying to protect you from me. But I am not the one they should have been worried about.”

  “Are my grandparents okay?” she asked. Her heart skipped a beat as she waited for the answer.

  Jeremiah’s eyes grew dark. “Our first priority was to get you out of the train and away safely. Once Jonah retrieved you, I went looking for Elysa. In the chaos, it looked like she escaped and I believe she took your grandparents with her.”

  Violet felt shivers run through her body again. She wondered what lengths Elysa was willing to go to get what she wanted. She wrapped her arms around her waist. “Do you think she’ll hurt them?” Her voice was small.

  “I don’t know,” he said finally.

  “I’m scared, Jeremiah,” Violet said, looking out over the water. “It seems like I’m losing everyone I care about, and it’s all my fault.”

  She was surprised when his arms encircled her and pulled her against him. “I will protect you, Violet. I swear it with my life,” he whispered in her ear. Chills ran down her spine. The man who held her was dangerous, but the feelings that were threatening to overwhelm her were even more so.

  She rested her cheek against his chest and watched the waves. “Thank you, Jeremiah.” They stood like that for several minutes. The silence was comforting.

  As he slowly released her from his embrace, she pulled away, but just a few inches. She didn’t want the moment to end. Jeremiah looked down at her, and she saw a hunger in his eyes. She knew what he wanted, and in that moment she wanted it too. Damn the consequences, she thought, as she lifted herself up on her toes and kissed the corner of his mouth gently.

  She felt herself pulled tightly to him as his mouth turned the few centimeters so that he crushed her lips full on. Her mouth parted and a thrill of heat and desire rocked her when his tongue slipped into it. She didn’t resist him. She didn’t want to resist him. All too soon he dragged his mouth away from hers, breathing heavily as he released her. Immediately she felt empty.

  “I shouldn’t do this,” he said in a strangled voice.

  Violet’s cheeks were flushed and her lips felt slightly bruised from the onslaught of his kisses. “Why?” She didn’t understand. He had practically declared his possession of her the first night they met, so his reaction was confusing.

  “My brother cares for you,” Jeremiah said, looking away. “I won’t do that to him again.”

  Violet’s eyebrows rose at the word “again.” She put her hands on her hips. “I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions, Jeremiah,” she said. “I like Jonah. He’s nice and funny, but I’m not interested in him in that way.”

  “I could be accused of not caring about my brother’s feelings, and that is something that I feel like I’ve spent lifetimes atoning for,” Jeremiah said, pulling her chin so that he could see her eyes clearly. “It is a long and sordid story, but suffice it to say that until you and he have an opportunity to clarify your relationship, I think it’s best that nothing else happens between us.”

  Violet was shocked. His response wasn’t at all what she expected, and she was annoyed that it sounded like Jeremiah wanted his brother’s blessing before going any further. “I don’t understand,” she said.

  His hand dropped from her chin and he shook his head. “Once you do, if you feel the same, then we’ll talk again. Right now, we need to get back to the fire. Elysa needs to be dealt with, and we don’t have much time to plan.” His voice was even and expressionless. He turned and trudged away.

  Violet wanted to stop him, but didn’t. She was confused and chagrined that he was probably right. Jumping into something with someone she barely knew wasn’t the smartest thing to do, regardless of how badly her body was betraying her.

  “Chill out, Violet. Get a grip,” she said out loud to herself. Her hand strayed to her lips and she could feel that they were swollen. The symbols on her right hand had appeared again. Then her fingertips drifted to the locket around her neck. She couldn’t think of a present that was more appropriate or made her feel more special.

  The Montrose brothers were going to drive her crazy. As she followed Jeremiah back to the fire, she had a feeling that she could expect a long sleepless night ahead of her.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  As she approached the fire pit, she could see that Jonah had moved from the piece of driftwood that she had been sitting on to Margo’s. The two had their heads together. She felt a small jolt of pleasure as she watched Margo throw back her head and laugh at something that Jonah had said. She hoped that Jeremiah was taking note of the interaction as well. Then Jonah and Margo both turned and looked at her as they approached the inner circle. The smile on Jonah’s face fell and his eyes glittered as he watched Jeremiah enter the circle first. Margo lifted an eyebrow.

  “Feeling better, sweetie?” Margo asked, standing up and gathering her into a warm hug. Violet wished that she could tell her friend everything that had transpired and ask for her advice, but it wasn’t the time.

  “Yeah, sorry about that,” Violet said. She couldn’t decide which brother to look at so she looked down at her feet instead. “Thanks again for the gifts, everyone. That was really thoughtful.”

  “Well, now that the celebratory activities are over, I think it’s time for us to talk about what happens next,” Jeremiah said.

  Margo pulled Violet down to sit beside her so that all three of them now faced Jeremiah. Violet didn’t want to talk about what was next. She wanted to just sit in the warmth of the fire and recover that feeling of irresponsibility that she had earlier. She wanted to listen to music and dance under the moonlight. She wanted to feel passion and she wanted to be loved. Her heart skipped a beat as she raised her eyes to meet Jeremiah’s.

  “It’s too bad that we have to worry about this at all,” Jonah said sourly. “If you had been able to take care of Elysa at the train that would have been helpful. Or perhaps if you took the time to ever include anyone else in your secrets you could help the rest of us help you. And avoid any unforeseen accidents.”

  Violet shifted uncomfortably. She knew that he was talking about the fact that he had almost killed her.

  “He’s right,” Margo said. Her voice trembled at first, but then got stronger. “You put all of us at risk, especially Violet, if you don’t trust us enough to keep us in the loop.”

  A thought suddenly occurred to Violet. “How did you know?” Violet asked. She flushed under Jeremiah’s heated gaze. “How did you know that if I drank vampire blood I’d die?”

  “Question of the day,” Jonah said flatly, as he crossed his arms.

  Jeremiah put his hands on his hips and sighed. “I became privy to information that the vampires were not the only ones whose bloodlines Brockhart Ward tampered with. The old bastard cast a spell that ensured that his family would never be able to be turned into vampires. Any Ward who drank vampire blood would die.”

  “That’s what happened to Rose, wasn’t it?” Jonah whispered. The surprise and pain in his voice was evident. “You tried to make her like us, didn’t you?”

  Jeremiah’s face was unreadable. “She asked me to make her vampire so that she could escape her father. I thought that I was only fulfilling her wishes. I had no idea what would happen. I’m sorry, Jonah.”

  “How could you keep this from me?” Jonah said, his voice harsh. “You knew what she meant to me and all this time you were the one who killed her?”

&n
bsp; “It wasn’t me that did that to Rose. It was her father. I didn’t tell you because I couldn’t risk having you turn against me at a time when I needed you by my side. As far as what happened to Violet, I thought that we had already agreed that we wouldn’t risk potentially tainting her abilities by diluting even a drop of it with our own blood. I didn’t know that you’d break from that agreement the moment things got a bit out of control.”

  Violet was horrified. There was much more to the story of what happened between the Montrose brothers and her ancestor than she suspected. “So if the circumstances had been switched, and it was you who had pulled me from the railcar, Jeremiah, you would have let me die?” she asked defiantly.

  “Violet, I believe you are the one that we have been waiting for a thousand years to be born. I knew that person would be able to wield the magic that has flowed through the veins of Ward family for centuries. That woman, you, would have the ability to heal yourself if properly focused. And you did.”

  Violet sat very still. She had not questioned waking up and having her eyesight restored. She thought it was some kind of residual effect of drinking Jonah’s blood. Her stomach was doing flip-flops. “How could you be so certain?”

  Jeremiah stepped to her side and then knelt down in front of her. He took her hand and held it up in the firelight. She could faintly see the gold swirls still there shining in the fire’s dim glow. “How can you not?”

  Jonah stood up and started to pace. Jeremiah’s eyes held her for another moment, and then he broke away, standing back up. “We have to go to Cove Point.”

  “WHAT?” Margo and Jonah’s voice were in union.

  “No way in hell,” Jonah said. “Are you crazy, Jeremiah? You are going to get us all killed.”

  Jonah pushed past Margo and stood in front of Violet, blocking her view. “I won’t let you do this. I don’t know what you are thinking or planning, but the three of us are out. Violet’s been through enough and I’m sick of your lies thinking you know better than everyone else. We’re all in this mess because of the way you treated Elysa to begin with.”

  “Elysa is unstable. She had always been unstable. And let me remind you, Jonah, that you are not off scot-free in that regard,” Jeremiah said, his teeth clenched. “You and Margo are free to do whatever you want, Jonah. You always have been. But Violet is staying with me.”

  “The hell she is!” Jonah said. He stepped forward and pushed Jeremiah backwards. “You need to get a clue, Jeremiah. You don’t own everyone in the world.”

  Jeremiah’s nostrils flared but he didn’t move. “You want to take a step back, little brother.”

  “Make me,” Jonah said, pushing hard on Jeremiah’s chest again. This time Jeremiah’s hands swung up and he shoved Jonah’s arms away.

  Violet stood then. “Stop it, both of you!”

  Neither man looked at her. They were both glaring at each other. Violet knew that this was not going to end well for anyone. But they didn’t move.

  “I am sick and tired of everyone else thinking they can make decisions for me. I’m eighteen years old and I am standing right here! No one is going to tell me what I’m going to do or where I’m going to go. Once someone bothers to stand still long enough to tell me what the hell Cove Point is and why I should go there, then you can both go straight to hell!” Her voice had gotten louder and louder as she felt the words bubbling in the back of her throat.

  By this time, both men had shifted their stance and looked at her with shocked expressions on their faces. She was flabbergasted at how idiotic they looked. She put her hands on her hips. “If you want my help, then I expect you to ask for it. This isn’t a thousand years ago and I’m not some simpering girl who is going to swoon at your feet because you looked in her direction. Now sit down and tell me what the hell is going on.” Three pairs of wide eyes looked at her. She took a deep breath and sat down. As calmly as she could, she finished. “Please.”

  Margo plunked down beside her. “Well done, Vi. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen either one of them speechless.”

  Both brothers looked abashed, but Jeremiah’s expression quickly crossed to chagrin. But he sat down and crossed his arms. Jonah sat down as well, but as far from his brother as he could manage without sitting on the sand.

  “What would you like to know, Violet?” Jeremiah finally said. She could tell that the effort of keeping his voice neutral was challenging him.

  “What is Cove Point?” she said. She had a million questions, but she thought it best to keep it to the basics for the moment.

  “Cove Point was my estate when we first migrated here to the U.S.,” Jeremiah replied. He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees.

  When he didn’t continue, Violet sensed that she was going to have to pull the information out of him. He wasn’t giving it up willingly. She didn’t understand why he was choosing to be so difficult.

  “So why is everyone getting upset about going there?” she asked.

  Jonah rolled his eyes and sighed. “The key word in that sentence? Was. It was his estate.”

  “Elysa got it when they broke up,” Margo said.

  “Like a divorce settlement?” Violet would have found the detail funny if the situation had been different. She wondered how serious things actually had been between Jeremiah and Elysa.

  “Funny how he always leaves important details out, isn’t it?” Jonah said smugly.

  Jeremiah’s face darkened.

  “Elysa is your cousin,” Violet said, turning to Margo, who nodded and grimaced.

  “Elysa’s husband died in the war, and the whole family was on suicide watch. Little did we know she found a way to be able to die, but stay young forever. Elysa has always been that vain. Jeremiah wouldn’t turn her though.” Margo glanced back and forth between Jeremiah and Jonah and then sighed when neither one added anything. “So she had to find someone else to do it. I think when she turned, she came completely unhinged. Elysa was always a bit of a black sheep in the family.”

  Violet felt like she wanted to rip her hair out. “Okay, so let me see if I got this straight. Jeremiah the vampire.” She pointed at Jeremiah. “Dated and dumped Elysa the mortal crazy lady. Then he left her, but somehow she got his house. Then Elysa ran off and somehow found a way to become a vampire anyway. Now she’s pissed off and trying to find any way possible to get back at him.”

  “Elysa wouldn't leave the house so I left instead. I just haven't taken it back yet. An important piece that you are missing though is that Jonah turned her,” Jeremiah said.

  Violet’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

  Jonah’s head dropped into his hands. “That’s a long story for another time.”

  Violet looked back at Margo, who rolled her eyes. “Brother drama,” Margo whispered.

  Violet wasn’t sure which part she was more uncomfortable with, the fact that Elysa was crazy or that clearly the brothers had been fighting over women for centuries. She wasn’t sure if she was just one of another long line of Jeremiah’s conquests now, but she had to remember that he had been the one who had stopped things on the beach. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

  “Let’s come back to that one, because that whole thing is tripping me out. Let’s talk about me instead. I come from some really long line of witches—”

  “And warlocks,” Margo interrupted.

  It was Violet’s turn to sigh. “And warlocks. My family was like BFF with the Montrose coven until Jeremiah decided to hook up with my ancestor, which made her dad super angry and he cursed all of you, which created the first bloodthirsty vampires. But he also made an antidote, which has been hidden away and evolved into the myth that we all know as the Fountain of Youth.”

  “Dang, Vi. You are wicked smart. You totally should’ve gotten into Brown,” Margo said.

  Margo's reminder of a life that was so far removed from her current state was almost laughable. That girl and that dream were fading quickly. “Everything correct so far?�
�� she said, looking straight at Jeremiah.

  “More or less,” he said.

  “Do you know what this is?” she said, pointing to her hand. The symbols were no longer visible, but she swirled her finger around in the designs that she remembered there.

  “To me, it’s the map to our future. To you, it’s your spell book. It’s the physical manifestation of your power and the power of all of your ancestors. On the day of your transition into adulthood, you inherit your destiny,” Jeremiah said. He looked surprised to have said so much.

  “You know this because...” Violet pushed.

  “It’s what happened to Rose,” Jeremiah said.

  “It was crazy cool, Violet. She used to let us just sit and watch as she created flowers out of thin air to set on tables and how music floated around her even though no one was playing an instrument. She loved beautiful things and surrounded herself with them. She had the same markings,” Jonah said.

  As Jonah spoke, Violet heard a longing in his voice that she recognized. Jeremiah wasn’t the only one who had had feelings for her ancestor, and she was sure that was what was at the core of the brothers’ dispute with each other. She remembered Jeremiah mentioning that Rose had courted other men’s affections. That would have been awkward.

  “So I’m a witch,” she said slowly, turning the word over on her tongue.

  “A very powerful witch,” Jeremiah agreed. “That’s why Elysa was trying to get to you before your birthday. You are stronger now. Completely and totally inexperienced, but strong.”

  Violet was annoyed when he emphasized the word “inexperienced” even though she knew that he was just speaking the truth. It didn’t make it smart any less.

  “My grandmother mentioned that we were going to Elysa’s estate. I take it she meant Cove Point,” Violet said. Without waiting for confirmation, she continued. “So what are we doing at Cove Point? Assuming Elysa doesn’t show up first and decide to start something. Seems to me we’d be going anywhere but Cove Point.”