by Unknown
I wish I were home, safe and sound. Well, safer and sounder that it is, Lexi thought to herself as the horse galloped through the dark night. Riding bareback, she clung to its mane and prayed that she wouldn’t fall off. And then it happened.
A bright light shone in front of her, casting down from the sky. It made Lexi feel like she was in the Twilight Zone or something. As she looked for a source of light, she felt herself being lifted into the air – the same way she had been when the book had sucked her in.
Once she was up in the air, looking down over the horse who had come to an abrupt stop and seemed to be staring after her, Lexi felt the scream escape her throat. She couldn’t hear herself screaming, though. In fact, everything was such a big blur as she whirled around in the air that she couldn’t hear anything until Dan yelled, “It’s okay, Lexi! Don’t be afraid. You’re going home!”
“But I’m not ready to go back yet! You’re not coming with me!” Lexi cried.
“Don’t worry about me! Just think about how you want me to come home as soon as you get there, and I’ll be able to follow you!” Dan shouted back at her.
Lexi glanced over her shoulder at Dan as her body was swirled around in the air. Mary-Kate was getting closer to him, sneaking up on him from behind. She was carrying something long and pointy. A stake? “Dan, watch out!” Lexi screamed, pointing behind him.
She watched as Mary-Kate whipped the stake over her shoulder as she prepared to launch it into Dan’s heart. Just as he turned around, realizing what was happening, Lexi’s vision went black.
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When Lexi woke up, the first words that she mumbled were, “Dan?”
“He’s not here, Lexi,” a voice said softly.
Lexi cracked open one eye. She found herself laying on Anna’s bed in her dorm room. “How did I – ” she stammered. “I’m back?”
Anna was sitting on a chair next to the bed, a wash cloth in hand. For a minute, Lexi hoped – and even thought – that she was going to tell her that she hadn’t actually gone anywhere, that this whole ordeal had been nothing more than a bad nightmare. Instead, Anna nodded. “You came back through the book today.”
Lexi shut her eyes, trying to remember the minutes before she had been sucked into the air. She had wished to come back. Someone back home must have been wishing that she would come back at the same time. Lexi swore at herself inside her head. How could she have done that? How could she have wished to come back knowing that Dan wouldn’t have been able to grab onto her if she got pulled in? She couldn’t believe that she had just left him there like that, all alone.
She realized that she’d thought it because she had no idea she was going to get pulled back into the book. She really hadn’t expected anyone back home to be thinking about her at that moment in time. If Lexi had known, she wouldn’t have wished it.
“Was Dan with you when you got pulled back?” Anna asked her, placing the wash cloth over her forehead.
Lexi leaned back into the pillow and nodded her head. She had a throbbing headache. “He – he might be dead,” she said the words aloud, remembering as she watched Mary-Kate raise the stake in the air.
“Dead? What happened?” a voice asked. Lexi glanced to where it was came from and realized that it was Austin.
“Mary-Kate,” Lexi whispered, her eyes filling up with tears. As one single tear slid down her cheek, she added, “Mary-Kate tried to kill him.”
“What? Why would Mary-Kate try to do that?” Austin asked, his voice full of shock.
“I know she’s your girlfriend, Austin,” Lexi began, but Austin interrupted her. “Not anymore. Anna and I are together now.”
Lexi glanced at Anna, who nodded in confirmation. “It’s true.”
“Congrats, guys. It’s about time. Anyway, Mary-Kate followed us into the book. She said she wanted to bring me back so that I could save her mom with my blood, but then she wanted the potion.” The potion. Oh shit. Had Lexi brought it back with her? The last thing she could remember, it was tucked safely under her shirt and Dan was telling her not to drop it – and the next, she was whirling through the air, but she wasn’t sure if she still had it on her. “Did I bring the potion back with me?”
“You mean this?” Austin asked, grabbing the jar from Anna’s desk and showing it to her.
Lexi breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. If Dan had died – if Mary-Kate had killed him over this – she wanted to at least honor his dying wish of keeping the potion away from her sister. Lexi wasn’t sure if she would drink it if Dan was dead, though. Could she live forever with the guilt that she would feel over his death? If only she hadn’t thought about home. . . .
“So, tell us more about Mary-Kate, Lexi,” Anna pressed. “Why would she try to kill Dan?”
“She said if I didn’t give her the potion, she would kill Dan,” Lexi replied. “She had a knife to kill me and – and . . .” Her voice trailed off as she broke down crying again. “She had matches and a stake to kill him. When I got sucked back here, she was about to put a stake through his heart. I don’t know if he saved himself.”
“But why would Mary-Kate do that?” Austin asked. “I don’t get it. I don’t even get how she got there.”
“Mary-Kate is having some serious mental problems right now. She hates me.” Lexi closed her eyes thinking back to what Mary-Kate had said her time traveling. “She said, ‘I had to track them down in Long Island,’ because her plans to follow us were interrupted.”
“So, that’s the real reason she came to see me in Long Island,” Austin said, shaking his head. “She came into our hotel room, and I let her use the bathroom. When we got back, she was gone so I figured she left, but . . . I guess she went into the book.” He sighed loudly. “This is all my fault.”
Anna reached for his hand. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known her real intentions.” She paused. “That explains why Ben couldn’t get in the book.”
“Ben? What are you talking about?” Lexi asked.
“He tried to time travel so he could come get you,” Austin said. “Apparently, only Hunters can use the book to travel, and only two can use it at once. That’s why Mary-Kate was able to get through – and why Greg wouldn’t have been able to even if he wanted to. How exactly did Dan get in?”
“He grabbed my legs and tried to pull me back,” Lexi replied offhandedly. “No, I don’t think that’s why Ben couldn’t get in the book. I mean, yeah, maybe only two Hunters can travel at once, but I don’t think my dad would have been able to get through, anyway.” When Austin and Anna stared back at her questioningly, Lexi explained, “I saw him there, in the past. I gave him the second bat pendant Belinda made.”
“Belinda?” Austin asked.
“The witch who cursed the town of Briar Creek,” Lexi replied impatiently. “Look, we have lots of stuff to talk about, but can you leave me alone right now? I promised Dan I would wish for him to come back as soon as I got home.”
“So, they did know that was how they had to get back,” Anna said. She stood up, brushing off her short black lacy skirt with her hands. “We’ll leave you alone now. We’ll come back later. Try to get some rest, okay?”
Lexi nodded. Anna started to walk towards the dorm room door, but she turned around and ran over to Lexi, throwing her arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re back,” she said before turning to the door again.
“Wait, before you go,” Lexi asked. “Where are Gabe and Craig?”
“I don’t know where Craig is. He’s been pretty much M.I.A. lately. Gabe’s . . . somewhere,” Austin said, exchanging a glance with Anna. Lexi couldn’t tell what the glance was about, but she knew that they were communicating with their eyes. “I’ll send him in here if you want.”
Lexi nodded. Once the door clicked close behind them, she rolled over onto her side and pictured Dan’s face. I want Dan to come home . . . Send him home. I wish he was home, Lexi pleaded in her mind.
Nothing happened.
She repeated her tho
ughts and, once again, Dan didn’t return.
Lexi sighed. She knew that she couldn’t give up hope. She didn’t know exactly how the time difference between the past and the future worked, but she did know one thing: if Dan was still alive, he would wish to come home at some point. As long as she kept wishing – and hoping – every minute of the day, he would come back eventually.
The door clicked open again, and Lexi held her breath. She was feeling really nervous about seeing Gabe. She had a gut feeling that whatever happened next between them would determine their future. On the one hand, Lexi felt like she needed him right now; on the other hand, she was afraid that even if things did work out, she would never get the image of him cheating on her with Veronica out of her mind. Would they be able to work out after this? Was there any hope for them?
“Hi, Lexi,” Gabe said softly, as he sat down in the chair next to the bed. He clenched and unclenched his wrist nervously, as he looked up at her.
When Lexi stared into the depths of his blue eyes, she knew her answer.
The Briar Creek Vampires, Book 5 will be released by August, 2012.
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If you would like to support this series, please consider leaving a review.
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Jayme Morse and Jody Morse are sisters that reside in the Poconos. They write young adult paranormal romance and suspense.
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