"When do we leave?" Taylor asked
"Leave?" Allie turned to Taylor.
"To get the herb.” Taylor narrowed her eyes. “Our goal is to get the herb and help Daisy, right? Or have you guys given up on that already?”
"Why are you so anxious?" I asked.
"Because if it helps you maybe it means I get my essence back." There was a glimmer in her eyes that hadn’t been there before Hailey arrived.
"Or maybe you could use it too and become a normal human,” I suggested. “Maybe it will help with the… you know.” I didn’t want to share the whole ticking secret, but I wanted her to at least consider the possibility of staying human rather than becoming an Allure again. Maybe I was biased, but I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to return to that emotionless state.
"I don't want to be human. You know that." Taylor shot down my idea quickly.
"Which makes no sense." I spoke out loud even though I probably should have kept it to myself.
"Just because you don't want the gift doesn't mean others don't." Taylor glared.
"Is it the immortality?” Hailey accepted a bottle of water from Allie.
Taylor took a seat on the couch. "That’s part of it, but it’s also the power. The ability to make someone do exactly what you want them to do."
"Because you don't sound power hungry." I rolled my eyes.
"And it's the simplicity." Taylor spoke much lower this time. Her face tensed.
"What's simple about being an Allure?" My life had been anything but simple since becoming one.
"The lack of feelings. No sadness. No drama. It’s easy. Carefree."
"But you also lose all the good feelings." And the good feelings were worth the painful ones.
"But the good feelings all go away eventually. Nothing can stay the same forever." She stared at her hands in her lap.
"It can't stay the same, but that doesn’t mean it's not good." Allie sat down beside her. "I assume you're talking about love. And that's exactly what love is. It changes over time, sometimes so slowly you don't notice and other times it's drastic, but it's still there and still good. At least real love is."
Hailey whistled. "And that's the kind of love I want to find."
Allie appeared startled. "Wow. Hailey Kaye admitting she wants to find love?"
Hailey shrugged. "Blame it on my brother. And her," She pointed out me. "You two have made me want it."
It was my turn to be surprised. Owen and I made her want to find love? Our relationship wasn’t exactly an easy one. “Even despite all the craziness, and near loss of it? Our love still inspired you to want your own?”
Hailey’s face softened. "Crazy, I know."
"Ok, this talk is great and all, but let's get moving." Taylor headed toward the door.
"Moving where exactly?" Allie scooted a little ways over.
"To find the Shadow and get the herb." Taylor moved to her feet. "Isn't that obvious?"
"I'm all about positive thinking, but do you actually believe we have any chance against those creatures?" I still remembered the chill I felt being near them. I remembered watching Owen suffer as I was pulled out of Violet’s house.
"There's always a chance." Taylor rolled up her sleeves. “If we try. If we sit here and wait around like a bunch of scaredy cats, nothing is going to happen.
“That’s not going to work on us.” Hailey set the nearly empty water bottle down on the wooden end table. “We don’t care what you think of us.”
“This has nothing to do with what I think of you, I’m speaking fact. If we stay here we lose. Plain and simple. If we leave, we have a chance. Where I come from a chance is better than nothing.”
I wanted the herb. I wanted to know I'd be able to feel and that the numbness would forever disappear. It was that desire that pushed me to agree with the person I never wanted to agree with. "I'm in even if it's just us. We can leave the others out of it. It’s not their fight. Hailey has done enough already, and Allie’s the queen."
"Just you?" Hailey took in a sharp breath. "I value my life."
"What does your life have to do with it?” I would have thought it would have been the opposite. Coming with me most certainly would have put her life in danger. By the looks of her and hearing about her run in with the Shadow, she’d been in plenty of danger already.
"My brother would kill me if I let you go off and do that." Hailey gave me a pointed look. “He’d go off the wall.”
"But he doesn't know you're here." At least I highly doubted it. Although maybe they’d spoken.
"Where is he anyway?" Hailey answered my question by asking her own.
"Off meeting with the Dragos."
"The Dragos?" Hailey’s eyes widened.
"Yes.” Taylor crossed her arms. “Which makes this perfect. We can get the herb without those birds messing it up."
"Those birds?" Hailey tensed. "I'm one of those birds."
“But you're different." Taylor rested her chin on one fist. "You're not an idiot."
"I'm married to one of those guys you think is an idiot." Allie gave Taylor a long stare.
"Fine." Taylor sighed dramatically. "Without those boys getting involved. Girl power and all that."
I laughed. "Girl power?"
Taylor shrugged. "It's a thing."
Allie, Hailey, and I exchanged looks. Taylor had a screw loose, but she also had a good point.
"Where did you last see your uncle and that herb?" Allie turned to Hailey.
"We found the herb in a swamp."
"A swamp?" It made her experience that much worse.
"Yes. And we were heading back to New Orleans when we were attacked.”
"Still in Louisiana?” Allie asked.
"Yes." Hailey nodded.
"Ok, so not far. Maybe we can do this." At least there was a chance we would catch up with the Shadow.
"Whether we can do this or not has nothing to do with the distance. It's the enemy." Allie walked over to a closet and pulled out a pair of boots. She carried them over to the couch.
"Put those away.” Hailey pointed to Allie’s boots. “You're staying here. You can cover for us if need be."
“Wait, what?" Allie took off her heels. “You actually think I’m going to sit here while you go to face the Shadow?"
"No." Hailey shook her head. "Because I know you well enough to know you refuse to be left out of things, but you should stay back."
"She’s the queen; she can do what she wants to do." Taylor took a few steps toward the door.
"Obviously." Hailey rolled her eyes. "That doesn't mean I won't try to protect her the best I can. It's part of my job."
Allie grunted. "Your job is not my security detail. You are my chief advisor."
Hailey put her hand in the back pocket of her jeans. "I'm talking about my job as your best friend."
Allie smiled. "Oh yeah. That one."
"Just tell me where to go, and I can go alone." I knew that was unwise, but I didn't need to put anyone else in danger. Especially not the queen. That would only get Owen in trouble.
"Is that a joke?" Hailey looked at me like I was crazy.
"No." I shook my head.
"You think I’m going to let my brother's girlfriend run off to defeat a Shadow on her own?"
“Not alone. I’d be there.” Taylor pointed out.
"When you put it that way..."I gave her a sheepish smile.
"Yes, I put it that way... and sending Taylor with you is even more dangerous. I have no clue what her motives are.” Hailey turned to Taylor. “Daisy is important to my brother, which means she’s important to me." She put a hand on her hip. "Got it?”
"Got it." Taylor nodded.
"Ok, moving on." I was done arguing. "So are we driving?"
"What other choice do we have?" Taylor asked.
"Because I'm not flying all three of you." Hailey sat on the edge of the couch. "I'm sure I could do it in an emergency, but it wouldn't be easy."
"Of course you're not flying three of us.
We'll take my car." Allie zipped up her second boot.
"What do you drive?" Taylor shifted her weight from foot to foot. "If we're going into the swamps we need four wheel drive.”
"I have a Land Rover. We're set." Allie smiled.
"You drive a Land Rover?" Taylor cocked her head to the side.
"What did you think I drove? A sports car?" Allie exchanged looks with Hailey.
"Something more queen like."
"The Land Rover was a high school graduation gift from my dad. I'll probably drive it until it doesn't work anymore."
"The king won't buy you a new one?" Taylor narrowed her eyes.
"The king doesn't have to buy me anything. I could buy myself one, but why would I?"
"I still am surprised you haven't changed the paint color." Hailey stood up.
"What color is it?" Taylor asked.
"You'll see. The reason I haven't changed the color is because it's grown on me, and it reminds me of the relationship I used to have with my dad."
"As long as the car gets us where we need to go, I don't care about the color." Taylor headed for the door.
"Not when you can just convince someone to give you theirs." Hailey cleared her throat. "Isn't that what Allures do?"
"Unfortunately I don't have that ability anymore." Taylor looked at me.
"I do, but I don't want it. Allie's Land Rover sounds perfect." They also didn’t need to know that I could only manipulate lust.
"Ok. I'm not parked all that far away." Allie stepped around Taylor and opened the door.
"You parked yourself? You didn't valet?" Taylor’s mouth fell open.
"Ok. Let's just get this out of the way. I’m not a priss. Ok? I even know how to dress and feed myself." Allie headed out into the hall.
Hailey snorted.
"I'm surprised. Impressed." Taylor followed Hailey out.
"Fine. Be whatever you want to be, but leave the snide comments out of this." Allie called over her shoulder.
"Deal.” Taylor turned back toward me.
I took a last glance back at the room. I had nothing to grab. No purse. No phone. No keys.
I had nothing to my name at the moment, not that it mattered. I wasn't completely numb, and I wouldn’t have gone back to that for anything.
Allie took a small flashlight out of her purse and led the way down the dark hallway. She was human, which meant she had normal vision. I wondered if it got old being the weaker one.
Out of the darkness, a figure materialized. He bowed slightly. "Good evening, Allie."
"Hello, Adrian. I've told you a hundred times you don't need to bow."
"And I've told you just as many times I can't change my behavior. You are the queen." He smiled. “The queen must be bowed to.”
“Maybe that’s the problem. Stop calling me the queen. I'm Allie. Just Allie. And Allie doesn’t need to be bowed to."
“And she just resorted to talking about herself in the third person.” Hailey chuckled.
"You are not just anything." The guy bowed once more. “That argument won’t work.” He seemed to take us in. "Are you going somewhere this evening?"
"Yes. We are going on a girls’ outing." Allie smiled. “A much deserved one.”
"Does the king know?" He narrowed his eyes.
"Levi does not need to approve all of my plans." Allie raised her chin. “Especially not one for a girls’ night.”
"Of course not." The guy flustered. "But he did leave explicit instructions to make sure you stayed safe while he was away."
"She's with me." Hailey patted Allie’s arm. "She's safe."
“Still, he asked me—” The guy started.
“Are you questioning my strength?” Hailey stepped toward him.
He shook his head fervently. “No, of course not. You’re very strong.”
"You bet I am. I can take you. Don’t pretend otherwise, or I'll tell the others about how I know that..."
He reddened. "That won't be necessary. Have a nice evening."
Allie smiled. "You too. If Levi returns before we do, tell him we'll be back soon."
Adrian’s face tensed. "Do you think you'll be gone long?"
"We'll be gone as long as we want." Hailey ushered us down the hall. "Why do you even humor him? You don't have to."
Allie glanced back at Adrian over her shoulder. "I have to treat everyone with respect. You know me."
"Respect. Sure. I get that. But that doesn't mean you have to let him think you are going to listen to him."
Allie looked back once more. "Cut the guy some slack. This can't be a fun job."
We reached the elevator. Hailey pressed the up button. There was a down button too, but I assumed that didn’t actually take you anywhere. I couldn’t imagine what would be underneath a basement that shouldn’t have even existed. "It's a cush job."
We all stepped into the elevator and waited for the doors to close. I wasn’t ready to face a Shadow, but Taylor had been right. Waiting around wasn’t going to help anything.
I wanted to believe there was an herb that could save me. To believe the numbness might forever disappear and leave me with feelings rather than nothingness, but it was hard to believe. It was equally hard to believe we’d ever defeat a Shadow.
My gut clenched with guilt. The emotion cut through the numbness that was cutting most of my feelings off. I shouldn’t have been dragging Allie and Hailey into this. They had nothing to do with it. Especially Allie. I could rationalize Hailey had a role because she was Owen’s sister, but even that line of thinking was thin.
I struggled to come up with a way to face the Shadow on my own, but I couldn’t. I needed Hailey to find it, and I also needed her help to destroy it. Allie didn’t need to come though. Hailey had accepted her argument so easily. Maybe she had a plan to keep her safe and away from danger. I held onto that hope. With everything else going on, I refused to be responsible for the injury, or worse, of the queen.
The elevator deposited us in the lobby of the hotel, and Allie and Hailey silently led the way to the front doors. Hailey stayed glued to Allie's side, much like a body guard. The two were friends, but Hailey was definitely protective of the queen. I wasn't sure how much of it was a job and how much of it came from the friendship. It didn't actually matter, but thinking about anything other than the altercation we were about to have, my guilt, and the growing numbness was high on my list.
Allie hit unlock and the lights flashed on a lavender Land Rover.
"Purple." Taylor rocked back on her heels.
"My dad had it special ordered. Don't ask." Allie opened the driver’s side.
"It's pretty." It was. Different, but pretty.
"Thanks." Allie smiled.
I got into the backseat behind Allie. Taylor sat next to me after Hailey immediately settled herself into the front seat. She turned around to look at us. "I'm sure this goes without saying, but Allie can't get hurt on this trip. Neither can you, Daisy."
"What about me?" Taylor put a hand to her chest.
Hailey seemed to mull it over. "You're in the same category as me. If you get hurt, that sucks, but the first priority is to protect the others."
"I agree with the Daisy thing. The essence she carries is worth more than my mortal life." Taylor nodded as if to herself.
"And Allie is queen." Hailey touched Allie’s headrest.
Taylor stretched out her legs in front of her. "I could care less about the queen thing, but she's a mom. Her kids need her, which means she takes priority."
Hailey and I exchanged glances. Then Hailey and Allie did. That was not the response any of us expected.
"I can feel again. Kind of. It's not my fault,” Taylor mumbled.
"That's thoughtful." Allie turned to look at her.
"Don’t dwell on it. It's not likely to happen again." Taylor stared down at the floor.
"Won’t you miss getting to be a mom if you become an Allure again?" I couldn't resist the question because it was one I'd started to think
about myself. Having kids had never been a worry of mine— until I met Owen. Now that I knew who I wanted to have kids with, I found I cared.
“Although I look young, I’m not. That ship has sailed.”
“But your body is young. I bet you could still.” I pressed even though I knew it wasn’t a good idea.
“I get it. You want to make babies with Owen.”
“Oh please. None of that.” Hailey turned and made a face.
“I’m just saying.” Taylor put a hand between us on the seat. “Just because you want something doesn’t mean the rest of us do.”
“Ok. I won’t bring it up again.” I was also done trying to convince her to become human. It was her choice. Not mine.
“Tell me where I need to go.” Allie pulled away from the curb and out onto the road.
“This is your last chance to stay back.” Hailey turned to Allie.
“Why are you wasting your breath trying to convince me of something you know I’ll never agree to?”
“I’m easing my conscious.” Hailey leaned back in her seat.
“Ok. You’ve done it. Let’s move on.”
“Ok then. Head toward the interstate.”
8
Owen
Now that I knew our visit with the Dragos would be even less friendly than I originally thought, I was reluctant to enter their den. A den. What high level creature even called their home a den anymore? It's as if they were stuck in ancient times. And maybe they were. Unfortunately their time and ours now matched up, and we were going to have to work together.
I would have blamed my lack of knowledge about Dragos on my ignoring history lessons, but those history lessons didn’t exist. The Society was concerned with reminding Pterons that we were the strongest and most powerful beings. Acknowledging that at other times we had enemies equal to us in strength didn’t fit into the grand scheme. We were told Dragos and Allures were no longer in our world, and that many of the other creatures I’d encounter recently didn’t even exist. I’d like to think they were protecting us, but they weren’t. Our leaders were protecting themselves.
I glanced at Levi. Would he have done the same thing? I couldn’t imagine him willfully withholding information from the next generation, but I didn’t really know what he’d do if he thought his power was in jeopardy.
Love (The Allure Chronicles Book 4) Page 6
