"Agreed," Kira said as they turned down the pathway to Luke's house.
Would she tell Tristan? It would feel like lying to keep it a secret, but would any boy want to hear that his girlfriend had some psychic connection with her male best friend? Oh, the same one who happened to be crushing on her big time? Especially if that connection resulted in the two of them almost kissing?
Those questions plagued her for the rest of the night and through the following morning. Throw in obsessive thoughts about what Diana was planning and serious excitement at finally getting to see Tristan, and it was no wonder that the ten o'clock council meeting passed by in the blink of an eye.
All Kira remembered from the gathering was that they had decided to send out a scouting party to decide if the vampire situation was really a threat or if they had gotten faulty information. Luke was put in charge since he had received the information, and Kira had forced them to include her too, even though the whole town thought sending her would just make things more dangerous. Luke requested that his sister come, and since his sister just loved Kira so much, she requested the blonde girl from the photo in Luke's room come along too. The council approved the decision and here they were, getting ready to leave.
As she followed Luke, his sister, and his ex to the car, all Kira could think was this was probably going to be a pretty unforgettable car ride. Unfortunately, Kira feared, it would be burned in her mind for all the wrong reasons. But she wanted to start the drive in a positive mood. Especially since she had the feeling it would not stay that way for long.
"What, no car and driver this time? You guys are slacking," Kira joked when Luke walked to the driver's seat of the speedy sports car they would be using. Apparently conduits really liked traveling in style, because Kira knew this car was nice—black leather seats and a shiny black paint job. At least it had four doors, so they wouldn't be ridiculously squished inside.
"No. This car I like to drive," Luke said with eyes wide and mesmerized, like a little boy with a new toy. He ducked his head under the doorframe and slid behind the wheel. Kira started to walk to the passenger seat, but the back door flew open, stopping her.
"Come sit next to me," Vanessa chirped. Kira instantly knew the glee-filled voice was a complete sham, but the other blonde girl slipped by her and took the seat next to Luke.
"Sure." Kira sat down, ignoring the victorious smirk on Vanessa's face.
Luke revved the engine, letting it growl into the silent morning air. Everyone else in town was already preparing for their return and thinking up plans for every possible worst-case scenario. But the four of them, for a short while, could try to have a little fun. At least, Kira knew Luke would definitely try to lighten the mood—something that was confirmed when he backed up and went from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye, shooting down the empty streets.
"Luke!" Kira said, grabbing onto the handhold. He just laughed and slowed down, but only a smidge. Last time they were in a car alone, Kira had been tethered to the bed of a pickup fighting a hoard of angry vampires. Somehow she felt less safe right now, especially with Vanessa's stare boring a hole into the side of her skull.
"So, Kira. Have you met Casey yet?" Kira shook her head.
"Hi," the girl said shyly from the front seat before turning around to wave. She had a sweet look. Her face was round and open and her hair was cut pixie short. She had on baby pink shorts that no evil immortal would find intimidating in the least. In fact, Kira felt almost like a biker chick compared to her, with her black leggings and cobalt blue blouse.
"Nice to meet you," Kira said. Quickly she checked her phone. No response from Tristan yet. She had texted him on the way to the car.
"You know," Vanessa said quietly, leaning in toward Kira as if to make small talk. "Luke and Casey were sort of a thing back in high school—"
"Vanessa, now is not really the time for that," Luke said shortly from the front seat.
"What?" she replied, wide-eyed and innocent.
"Actually," Kira interjected before Vanessa could open her mouth again, "I did know."
"What?" Luke and Casey both said from the front seat.
"Uh, yeah," Kira said, sinking into her seat and wishing for once that her somewhat big mouth would stay closed. "I wasn't snooping, exactly. But I saw a photo of the two of you on Luke's desk."
"You still have that photo...there?" Casey asked in a meek voice. Kira almost felt sorry for the girl. She knew Luke and the two of them never would have lasted. Luke's personality was too strong for her. He needed someone to keep him humble, not someone who would hang on his every word. At least, that was how Kira's mind was rationalizing the entire thing.
"Yeah, Luke. You still have that photo up?" Vanessa chimed in. Kira wanted to kick her.
"Actually," Luke said in a strained voice, giving his sister the evil eye through the rearview mirror, "I thought I put that away."
"Apparently not." She smirked back.
Kira realized what was going on. It was a show, probably for her benefit. Luke's sister must have put that photo back up in his room, anticipating that the four of them would be together at some point in Kira's few weeks with the conduits. She's good, Kira thought. It was a very well laid-out plan. Except that Kira could see Casey's reflection in the side mirror as they sped down the road, and she looked about to cry. She must have seen through Vanessa's idea too.
"What's your high school like?" Kira asked, hoping to change the subject.
"Same basic format," Luke answered for the group. "Hormonal teenagers, boring classes, and a mix of good and bad teachers. The only major difference is the classes we take. Instead of gym, we have training sessions. Instead of advanced math, we have conduit history lessons. In English, we study mythology rather than Shakespeare. We take religion classes, sort of like at a Catholic school. But conduits have their own interpretation of the Bible, and it varies from Protectors to Punishers. We study a lot of science, biology and chemistry to figure out how we operate and to try to understand how the vampiric virus works. You know, nothing crazy."
"Yeah," Kira said. Nothing crazy? That sounded like the strangest environment ever.
"You grow up a lot faster," Vanessa said, "knowing that you have a higher purpose and all. I mean, by the time I graduated, I knew how to, I don't know, treat my best friend with respect for example." She stared pointedly at Kira.
"No," Kira said under her breath, "I think you learned how to be a total bit—"
"Okay!" Luke interjected from the front seat. "Let's make peace, not war people."
Kira crossed her arms and looked out the window, letting an uncomfortable silence form in the car. The only sounds were the purring engine and the wind in the trees outside. There weren't even people or other cars to distract anyone.
"Where are we going?" Casey said. Her face was bright red from blushing.
At that exact moment, Kira's phone buzzed. She flipped it open and quickly read the text.
"It's Tristan. He said he would meet us on the road?" Kira said aloud, finally breaking her silence.
Luke just nodded.
"Who's Tristan?" Casey asked.
Kira and Luke answered at the exact same time.
"Our informant."
"My boyfriend."
Their eyes met in the rearview mirror, but Kira pulled hers away quickly.
"Wait, your boyfriend is involved in all of this? How? He's not a conduit, is he?" Vanessa questioned, sitting tall now that her curiosity was piqued.
"No." Kira laughed. About as far from it as you can possibly get, she thought, but instead replied, "He just knows a lot about this stuff."
"How?" Vanessa pressed the issue.
"Oh, you'll see," Luke said.
Kira couldn't tell if he was disgusted or laughing at the thought. But, she didn't mind. She did wonder why he wasn't telling the girls what Tristan was—why he wasn't preparing them. But, that was his call.
Kira looked out the window and tried to keep her legs from
bouncing too much. She was excited, so much so that she couldn't contain it. The best she could do was look the other way at the trees flying by and hope she was covering her glee with an appearance of boredom.
Was it completely crazy to be so excited to see your boyfriend when it really had only been two and a half days? No, she decided. Not when the last time you had seen him, you had both been running for your lives.
"Hey, Kira?" She turned at Luke's voice. "When Tristan said he would meet us on the road, did he mean literally on the road?"
"I don't know," Kira said and followed Luke's pointed finger to a black blob in the distance. It definitely looked like someone standing on the side of the road. Kira dug her hands into the chair, hoping it was him.
Luke started to slow down and as they approached, Kira could clearly make out the swoopy black hair and pale skin she knew belonged to Tristan. His tall, muscular frame was hidden behind dark-washed jeans and a black T-shirt, but his eyes were on the car.
"Luke! Don't stop!" Vanessa jerked her brother's shoulder. "Do you know what that is?"
"Luke!" Casey yelled at the same time. She started rolling down her window, preparing to fire a shot. Luke stopped her when Kira didn't bother to interject. She was already unbuckling her seatbelt and grasping the handle. Pushing the door open, she ignored the shocked cries of the girls in the car and the darkening look on Luke's face.
Before Kira had time to fully stand up, Tristan's arms were around her. His hands pulled her firmly against his hard chest, and all she wanted to do was hold on tight and never let go.
Chapter Seven
Kira completely forgot about the three conduits in the car when Tristan cupped her face with his palms and kissed her. It was short, too short, but strong and full of passion, sending a lively bunch of butterflies right into the pit of her stomach and an electric jolt down her spine.
She wished she could say she had been the one to end it, for Luke's benefit or the sake of the two jaw-dropped conduit girls, but it was Tristan who cut the kiss short as per usual. He pulled off modern teenager very well, but he was still in a lot of ways a product of the nineteenth century. At school or at parties, all Kira got was a quick peck or maybe a kiss on the cheek paired with mild handholding. But the advantage of having a supernaturally speedy boyfriend was that he could sneak into her bedroom very, very quietly and very, very often.
"Hi," he said with a lopsided grin. Kira smiled back.
"Kira, what are you doing? Get away from him!" Vanessa's angry and fear-filled voice shouted from inside the car.
Tristan's face fell slightly. The movement was almost too subtle for Kira to notice, but she had expected it to happen. Who wouldn't be saddened by the fact that his girlfriend had not told anyone about them, or more specifically about him? He probably thinks I'm ashamed, Kira thought sadly. But it wasn't about what he was, it was just that no conduits would understand. She didn't want to go through everything all over again. It would be like reliving her first conversation about it with Luke, but tenfold with an entire community.
Before she could say anything, Tristan put his game face back on and adjusted Kira to the side so he could peer into the car.
"Judging by their utterly shocked faces, I'm guessing you failed to mention what I am?" he said quietly to Kira, letting sarcasm soak into the words.
"I told them we were meeting up with my boyfriend..." Kira smiled apologetically. "C'mon, I'll introduce you."
Grasping his hand, she turned around to face the car. Luke lazily relaxed in the front seat, Casey leaned as far away from the window as possible, and Vanessa stared at Kira in a deep rage.
"I know this is probably a bit of a shock, but Casey and Vanessa, I would like you to meet my boyfriend Tristan. I swear he would never ever hurt either of you. You have absolutely no reason to be afraid."
"Hello," Tristan said and reached forward for a formal handshake, but both girls shirked away from his touch. Kira glared at Luke until he finally moved to speak.
"Kira's telling the truth," he said and got out of the car. He walked around to Tristan and shook his hand. "Hey, man. How've you been?"
"Good," Tristan responded a little stiffly. Nicety was not something Luke usually threw his way.
"Okay, now you, Vanessa," Luke said and reached into the car to pull on his sister's hand. She slid over to the window seat and slowly reached her hand out.
"Hello," she said. The words were so tense it sounded as though they had been forcibly pulled out of her body with a pair of pliers. Tristan quickly shook her hand up and down once before she jerked it out of his grasp and back into the car.
"And now, Casey," Luke turned toward her with an easy smile on his face. Kira wondered how hard it was for him to look so calm when he probably hated having Tristan there as much as those girls did, just maybe not for the same reasons.
"Hi," she said almost too quietly to hear. Tristan greeted her in return and motioned to shake her hand, but as soon as his fingertips touched hers, she pulled away.
"Well, now that we've dealt with this vampire problem, let's go deal with the second one," Luke said while hopping back into his car. Kira rolled her eyes and tugged Tristan into the car behind her with a sigh. She took the middle seat, loving that her right thigh was pressed up against Tristan, but not so much loving that her left one was smashed against Vanessa.
As Luke pulled away from the curb, a monotonous silence filled the car—no music, no other cars, and no trees rustling in the wind. All they heard were tires on asphalt and the rumbling engine.
But Kira didn't mind. Tristan's thumb gently rubbing the side of her hand provided more than enough distraction. With her head resting on his shoulder, Kira was completely at peace. At least she was until Vanessa spoke.
"Okay, sorry to disturb whatever weird pact the three of you have, but I just can't ignore it. He's a vampire. I'm sitting in the car watching a conduit cozy up to a vampire. It's unnatural. It's...it's...just gross, all right?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you feel left out? I can hold your hand too," Tristan said, acting completely innocent with wide blue eyes. Kira elbowed him in the ribs, not like it did anything. Sweet Tristan was being replaced with defensive and slightly edgy Tristan.
But Vanessa was fully prepared for a verbal battle. "If you so much as try to hold my hand, prepare to fry... Or is that how you like it? Kinky."
Here we go, Kira thought. If Vanessa was anything like her brother, this could go on for a while. Settling in for a fight, Kira shifted her head from Tristan's shoulder to the seat behind her. She had already learned to stay out of the crossfire, and hey, fighting got people's feelings out. Better out than kept inside to fester, she always thought—well, mostly thought.
"You don't know anything about our relationship, so stay out of it," Tristan threw back.
"I know it's completely asinine and destined to fail. You know, that whole part where you guys are mortal enemies and all. Or, I don't know, the fact that you're immortal. Or maybe it's that whole blood drinking thing that freaks me out. Take your pick." Vanessa leaned back in her seat. She might be even more vocally opinionated about this than Luke, Kira thought with surprise. What she wasn't at all surprised with was the gleam in Luke's eyes. At least he was keeping a smirk off of his face.
"No one said being in love is easy." Tristan grinned at Kira. They had talked about all of those things for hours. The jabs were nothing new, and definitely nothing Luke hadn't tried to convince Kira of before.
Vanessa turned her attention from Tristan and aimed it at Kira instead. "This guy? Really? Over my brother? I just don't get it."
"Fortunately, you don't have to." Kira coated her words with sweetness.
"Actually, I kind of do. You see, I saw what happened in the town square yesterday. Ten more seconds and this would have been a completely different conversation."
Crap, Kira thought. Those words were as good as blackmail. "I don't know what you're talking about." Kira tried to play it cool, but she
grabbed Tristan's hand again, squeezing it. His eyes were questioning and full of confusion. This wouldn't go away any time soon.
"I think you do," Vanessa threatened.
"Enough." Luke cut her off before she could continue. "We have more important things to talk about, like what we're going to do when we reach Orlando. We need to think of a plan."
Out of the corner of her eye, so Tristan wouldn't notice, Kira watched Luke. She didn't quite understand why he stopped his sister. Wasn't Tristan finding out about the almost-kiss exactly what Luke would want? A way to break them up? She couldn't decide if he was really just that focused on the mission or if other doubts made him stop Vanessa. For her part, Vanessa sat with arms crossed and a smug look on her face. Kira tried to ignore her.
"The plan," Tristan said, "is that Kira and I will scope out the head vampire's estate—it's right outside the city—and you three will do whatever conduits normally do to look into a vampire situation."
"Split up?" Luke asked Tristan. "I'm not sure about that."
"I agree with Tristan," Kira chimed in, "why not split up and cover more ground? We can all take care of ourselves."
Luke sighed. He had had enough fighting for one day. "Fine. Tristan, let me know where to drop you off when we get closer."
With that, Luke reached out to turn the radio on, and the silence in the car was drowned out with music, country of course. Tristan wrapped his arm around Kira's shoulder and she leaned against him, letting her head rest on his chest. Half of her listened to the twang-filled voices and the other half listened to the steady beat of his heart as it pumped foreign blood through his veins. After a while, Kira's eyelids began to shut and she let herself fall in and out of sleep for the next hour or so, until Tristan's body tensed with anticipation.
Sitting up was difficult in her relaxed state, but Kira peered with sleepy eyes out the window. She saw a few houses. Clearly, the group had finally reentered civilization.
The Complete Midnight Fire Series Page 28
