“I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” I confess. “If it hasn’t happened yet, I don’t think it will. I’ve just been overly dramatic and overprotective. I’m sorry.”
“So you’ll let me go with you?”
I glance up in time to see his charming grin, and push him playfully.
“Well played, troublemaker.”
“I really was worried. But, I’m trusting your judgment. If you’re not concerned, I won’t be either.”
Great. Pressure I don’t need.
“I’m not trying to pressure you, baby,” he says gently. “Love means trust, right?”
“Right,” I grumble. “And, if you go with me, you have to listen to me. You will stay away from the house unless I need you.”
“You don’t already need me?” he asks seductively.
“Stop it.” I tap him lightly on his taut abs. “Of course I need you.” I touch my lips to his, but pull away before he can deepen the kiss. “Do you agree with my terms?”
“Will you kiss me if I do?”
“Maybe.”
“Fine. I will stay in the background. But, I will be there at the first sign of trouble.”
“Deal. Just be sure to keep aware of your surroundings. There’s no telling what they do out there.”
Sam nods. “Let’s talk to Tania. Maybe she can give us a rundown of their setup.”
“Good idea. We’ll have to know where Malcolm keeps the journals, get a layout of the house.” I start walking towards the sitting room. “Maybe Jenna can find the blueprints on the computer…”
I stop talking abruptly when Sam tugs my arm.
“Where’s my kiss? A deal has to be sealed you know.”
I chuckle at his playful smirk.
“Well, far be it from me to not seal a deal.” I thread my hands in his wheat colored hair, and bring his lips down to mine. Mmm. This is one hell of a seal.
“Thank you for letting Sam go with you.”
Amanda pulls me away from the crowd after Tania had given us the information we needed. Jenna is currently looking for blueprints, and the others are milling about talking to Sam about plans. I keep my mind in tune with his even as I turn my attention to Amanda. She looks so different than the girl I met a little more than two years ago. She has the same tawny hair (lightened by sun and product), same golden eyes, but what strikes me the most is the hardness behind those once innocent eyes. The girl who once thought boys, clothes and parties were the most important things in the world, was now a mature young woman. It almost makes me sad that she had to grow up so quickly, and see so many terrible things.
“I told you before, Amanda, I’m not trying to be difficult. I’m trying to keep you alive.”
“I realize that. I know you’re my leader, Ana. I’ve never forgotten that. But I’ve never forgotten that we’re best friends, either. You can’t expect me to not worry about you.”
I squeeze her forearm gently.
“I know. How are you doing? We haven’t really had a moment to just sit down and talk. I should have thought to do that with each of you after…”
I feel the sting of tears as I think of Zac. I can’t believe he’s gone. It feels like a lifetime ago, yet it was less than two weeks since I killed Zac. Oh God, I killed Zac.
“Ana?” I feel Amanda’s hand steadying me as I waver.
Sam is next to me in three quick strides.
“Baby?”
“I’m fine.” I step back, creating space between us.
“What happened?” Concerned eyes plead for her brother to explain what was going on.
“She was thinking about Zac,” he relates quietly.
“Tell her the truth, Sam.”
“Baby, you had no choice.”
“Okay, someone fill me in! I mean, I can’t read your mind, Ana.” And, there’s the hands-on-the-hips-I’m-getting-really-annoyed Amanda.
“What’s going on over here?” Jenna walks up carrying what looks like printed pages. “Here are the plans for the house.”
I took the papers from her, thanking her before addressing Amanda. “I know we don’t have an actual meditation room here, but could you possibly set one up for us to meet in? I can’t go into this house,” I raise the papers, “feeling like this.”
“Of course. Come on, Jenna.” Amanda grabs a confused Jenna, dragging her out of the room with her.
I feel guilty for my behavior. My intention was to find out how Amanda was handling Zac’s death, and I get sidetracked by my own disquiet. Mum, papa? Please help me with the strength I need to be there for my Hunters. Immediately I feel Sam behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. With a gentle squeeze, I feel my anxiety fade.
The room is lit by candlelight only and the gentle aroma of eucalyptus calms my racing thoughts. So much is going on, not the least of which being a ‘Priestess’ out there bearing my name, that I can’t seem to turn off the thoughts. Of course, it has been like that since Bernard found me. I thought after I killed Thomas all of this would be over. Why does it feel like it’s just starting?
I glance around, awed by the job Amanda and Jenna did in such a short time. My small Society of Hunters sit on pillows in a circle surrounding a large white candle. The soft flickering of the flame bounces off each of their faces as they silently watch me and wait. Thankfully Tania had headed off to bed, citing a headache. With the way her temples were pulsing, I had no problem believing her. I am sorry she’s feeling bad, however it works out well for the rest of us not having to censor ourselves around her. So, we set her up in a room on the other side of the house while we gather together in our makeshift meditation room.
“Great job,” I compliment both Amanda and Jenna, and the others follow suit. “I wanted to meet with you all before we get into all of this ‘Priestess’ business.” I take a deep breath, letting the fragrance in the air envelop me like an invisible cloak of serenity. “The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind, but I still should have made the time to check in with each of you to see how you were doing. I hope we can get whatever we need out in the open. And while it will be a long time before we begin to feel even a little bit back to normal, hopefully we will be able to give our full concentration to whatever lies ahead.”
I pause, waiting for someone to speak up. But everyone lowers their gaze when I look at them.
“Okay,” I sigh. “I’ll begin.”
I take a moment and try to figure out how to put my feelings into words. How do I tell them how I ache for what I had to do to Zac? How do I explain the guilt?
Open your heart, baby. They will understand. Trust them to be there for you as much as you want to be there for them.
My eyes track to Sam, and I allow the intense love I feel for him to shine through.
“First, I want to apologize to all of you.” I hold my hand up when I see them begin to argue. “Please, let me finish. I am your leader. It is natural for me to feel responsible for each of you. Zac was turned on my watch. I couldn’t save him.” I pause again, warring with myself about how much to tell them. And I know, without a doubt, they should know everything. “He told me he didn’t want to live… this way, but I believed that I, that all of us could help him make the transition. His deteriorating condition should have warned me to be more diligent with his care. I could sit here and try to analyze every single thing that I did, that he said, that we saw, but it all ends the same way. Zac is dead. By my hand. He was our friend, our family, our fellow Hunter and I failed him. I failed all of you. I failed Sam.” My voice wavers at this point, but I continue before anyone can say anything. “I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to keep all of you alive. You all deserve that and more for what you have sacrificed for me.”
A tear slides down my cheek before I could stop it, but I don’t care. I want them to know that I hurt just as much as they do. This isn’t the time to hide my feelings from them.
“Ana.” Amanda’s soft voice carries through the quiet room. The compass
ion and understanding I hear in just the way she says my name is almost my undoing. “I feel like I speak for us all when I say none of this is your fault.” She looks around, making sure she has everyone’s agreement before continuing. “I know that I was one of the worst when it came to blaming you, and I can’t begin to apologize for that.”
When Sam was in the hospital - dying - Amanda’s emotions overwhelmed her when I refused to do what she asked of me and turn Sam. She blamed me for the things that had transpired. And that, along with Sam’s condition, me killing Thomas and the burden of Zac’s condition, my parents’ deaths and a long, lonely life, my humanity faltered.
“You are the one that brought me back,” I remind her.
“I’m the one that put you in that position in the first place. Wait,” she holds up a finger, effectively cutting off my rebuttal. “I knew you already felt guilty. I used that against you. I was so pissed off and scared that I would do anything to change your mind about Sam. What I did was wrong. They all let me know that,” she says, jerking her thumb towards the others. “They helped me see the error of what I did. And as much as I hate what happened to Zac, I trust you implicitly. He was too far gone for us to save. Us, Ana. You may have held the sword, but we stood beside you. Yes, it hurts. I feel his loss every day. But, our reality… if we don’t move on with our lives by putting the past behind us, we will end up the same way.”
Amanda leans forward, placing her hand on top of mine.
“Your actions are made to keep us and other innocents safe. How can we possibly fault you for that?”
Sam places his hand over Amanda’s, and I watch in stunned silence as Jenna, Jeremy, Sara, Eric and even Emily move in to put their hands in, an act of solidarity with me, with our Society. A complete and total calm that I haven’t felt since Bernard showed back up in my life settled over me.
We have an enormous challenge ahead of us, but with the bond we had formed being fortified, I believe we will get through whatever we have to face.
Sam and I enter the woods, taking the trail Tania told us about. If we can trust her, the trail should lead straight to the Enforcers’… home? Hideout? Whatever it is to them, I want to get there undetected. I don’t know Tania, so my trust in her only goes so far. My senses take over on their own - a side effect of being worried about my surroundings - and, I stop so abruptly that Sam has no choice but to run into me.
“Sorry,” he murmurs before I have a chance to stop him from speaking.
Quiet. We’re not alone.
Closing my eyes, I pay close attention to my heightened abilities trying to determine just what we’re up against.
I sense them. They’re not… human.
No they’re not, I agree silently with Sam. They’re cursed. Whether the Cursed Ones are working for the Enforcers, I don’t know. What I do know is that I don’t sense humans. I’m not sure whether to be grateful for that, or pissed off. On one hand, no humans means no guns. However, on the flip side, Hunters should be patrolling, keeping their area safe. Sigh. I really need to find out what’s going on around here.
How many are there?
I close my eyes, distinguishing the differences in each scent. One thing I can tell is they are all full bloods. Five distinct scents. I hold up five fingers to Sam, and watch him nod.
We can handle that.
His confidence makes me smile. While I am sure we can handle it, I don’t want draw unnecessary attention in case there are Hunters - excuse me, ‘Enforcers’ - in the area that I’m just not sensing. As soon as those thoughts enter my head, my nose catches six more extremely familiar scents. Damn it! I tug Sam back towards where we entered the woods, coming up on my Hunters.
“What are you doing here? I thought I made it clear that Sam and I would be doing this alone.” My tone, I’m sure, makes it clear that I am not a happy Leader.
“We had a feeling you could use our help,” Amanda bravely answers. Her shoulders are squared, and head held high as if she’s daring me to argue. It takes an extraordinary amount of constraint not to laugh at their independence. Even if they were directly disobeying me. I concentrate on making my glare menacing. And though I don’t mean it, it makes my Hunters take a step back.
“Lucky for you there are Cursed Ones here, and no humans that I can tell.” I allow a small smile to take the place of my scowl. “But you cannot go any further than these woods. I will take care of everything else. That is not up for discussion. Is that clear?”
Jenna steps forward, her hand resting lightly on her sword. “Tania mentioned something about Malcolm having Cursed Ones roaming the woods to keep away unwanted guests. She thought we should warn you.”
“Why didn’t she mention that before?” I wonder aloud.
“Good question. I don’t trust her,” Emily complains. “There are too many holes in her story.”
“Do you think she’s setting us up?” I ask the group, anxious to hear their opinions.
“I think she wants you to kill Malcolm,” Jeremy answers, and I can’t help but be impressed with his intuition. I had thought the same thing, but just because she wants something, doesn’t mean it’ll happen.
“You may be correct. She saw what I did to Meathead,” I begin, thinking of Meathead (aka Gunner, the enormously muscled ‘right-hand man’ of Malcolm’s). The last time we met, Gunner delivered a message from Malcolm to me. In other words, he punched me in the face. I know! What kind of ‘gentleman’ punches a girl? I had no other choice but to return the message. As far as I know, Gunner went back to Malcolm with a broken jaw and broken nose. “I’m sure she thinks anyone who can handle steroid-man can rid her of her problematic brother.”
“Are you going to kill him?”
My eyebrows shoot straight up to my hairline at Amanda’s question. I honestly thought she knew me better than that. I don’t kill innocents.
“I mean, I totally would after what I’ve seen of him, and what he had his buffoon do to you,” she hurriedly explains.
“No you wouldn’t. He’s an innocent. And, possibly a fellow Hunter. We can’t kill him,” I say dryly, and see her shoulders droop at my reprimand. “That doesn’t mean I’m not going to make sure he got my message loud and clear if he interferes with my objective.”
I smile at their chuckles thinking how great it is that we’ve become so close in our time together. I guess what they say about what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger goes for us as a group.
“Okay, enough standing around. I’m going to let you take care of this mess in the woods. Be extra careful though, they’re Full Bloods. I’m not sure how old they are, so they could pose a problem with you. I will stay with you long enough to make sure…”
“We know what we’re doing, Ana.”
My eyes cut to Jenna.
“I abhor being interrupted, Jenna. Especially when I am trying to explain my intentions.”
“Sorry.”
“As I was saying, I’ll stay with you long enough to make sure they don’t have guns or something more that could harm you. I also want to see what we’re up against with these Full Bloods to see if I can determine their ages. If they’re from my time, you may have a rough time. Not,” I say quickly at my Hunters’ narrowed eyes, “because I don’t think you can handle them. You’ve handled me just fine. But, I’m only one. There are five of them out there. We don’t know how trained they are or if, like Thomas’s group, they are swordsmen. Does that satisfy you, Jenna?”
She shrugs, but sends me a small smile.
“Good. Be alert. Hold nothing back. Ready?”
My Hunters take out their swords, pressing the buttons to release the blades. I nod to them, raising the hood of my cloak. If we somehow lose one of them, I can’t have them going back to Malcolm with my description as I’m quite positive they’re about to find out I’m one of them.
We enter the woods silently, fanning out enough to cover ground, but still close enough to have each other’s backs. They look to me for directions, a
nd I use hand motions to let them know where the Cursed Ones are located. The nearest one is a little more than a football field away from us. They’re spread out, staggered as they roam the woods. Good for us as they won’t gang up on us. At least not before we get to our first target.
They may be able to sense you as you get closer. I tell Sam wordlessly. Cursed Ones usually feel and smell the presence of another Cursed One; however, none have been able to detect me. I can’t help but wonder if Sam will be the same way. Sam nods, but stays in line with me. Let them take care of them. Only intervene if they need it. I feel Sam’s hand brush my lower back and a jolt of electricity from the simple touch courses through me. Oh boy. It’ll be nice when we have a chance to just get acquainted with one another without having anything else to deal with. When Sam chuckles softly, I know he agrees with me wholeheartedly.
I tap Amanda lightly on the shoulder and point to her left. She immediately takes her position while I give silent orders to the others. We’re effectively surrounding the first Cursed One, and I ascertain that the others are still some distance away. I leave it to them on how to approach the situation. I’m merely here to observe. At least I hope so.
Jeremy takes point with Emily and Eric flanking him. They’re completely in tune with each other, needing no words to communicate. I take a moment to be proud before being completely impressed with their plan.
As Jeremy, Emily and Eric approach the Full Blood, Jenna, Amanda and Sara move soundlessly out of sight, but never so far away that they can’t be there immediately if needed. To my surprise, the first three hide their swords and advance amiably. Just a stroll in the woods.
“Excuse me? We must be turned around. Do you know how to get back to the road?”
It’s so unbelievable to me that I almost laugh out loud. My Hunters know that Cursed Ones can tell if one is a Hunter. However, if these Cursed Ones are working with the Enforcers, they may be respectful. Very smart, I think as more pride flows through me.
Destined to Meet: A Destined Novel (Destined Novels Book 3) Page 2
