by B. A. Rivera
“No, you should just go to the bar and ask for it,” Hayden said, smiling at him, but in a condescending way.
He made a face but agreed. “Okay, I’ll be right back.”
“That was mean,” I said.
“What’s going on?”
“You wouldn’t believe me.”
“Try me.”
“Let’s just say I met some vampire witches and ended up kidnapped by them.”
“Those exist?” she questioned.
I saw Alexander and Christian come into the bar. Christian waved at me, a grin on his face. I really wanted to wipe the grin off. Just once.
“Speaking of, that’s two of them now.”
“Melinda,” Christian said. “How are you?”
I glared up at the man. “Fine.”
“And who’s this? A friend of yours?”
“Hayden,” she said. If she was afraid, she didn’t show it. I’d never seen her act so bold. She looked at them as if they weren’t creatures that could rip her throat out.
Maybe it was a werewolf thing.
“She smells like dog,” Alexander said.
Hayden glared at him like she might attack.
“Everything okay here?” Julian said, coming back to the table.
Christian patted his brother’s shoulder. “Yes. My brother and I were just out for a drink. Excuse us.”
The two brothers walked away from us.
“Who are they?” Julian asked.
“Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
And I didn’t want him to know. Julian was innocent. I didn’t want him getting caught in the crossfire. If something happened to him because of me, I’d never forgive myself.
Chapter 20—Melinda
I went to the bathroom at the grill. Alexander and Christian had already left, thankfully. They creeped me out. The feeling I got when I was around Theodora was so different from the feeling I had when they were around.
They scared me. I felt like I could feel their disdain for me. I especially felt it with Alexander. He didn’t like me one bit.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say Theodora liked me either, but at least I felt safe when I was with her.
When I stepped out of the stall, I froze.
Alexander was standing before me, leaning against the sink.
“Hello.”
“These aren’t coed bathrooms.”
“I’m sorry. Do you want me to leave?”
“That’s okay. I can go.”
I went to walk towards the door, but he appeared directly in front of me, wrapping his hand around my neck. He pushed me back into the stall, closing the door behind him. He shoved me against the wall, his eyes black with rage.
“What am I going to do with you Melinda?”
“Please, let me go,” I said, struggling to talk with the pressure he had around my neck.
“I can’t do that. You see, you’re my sister’s weakness. She’s doing it all over again. You had to look so much like Elizabeth. Do you know what she did to my sister?”
“No.”
“She pretended to love her. And she got Theo to fall in love with her. Then, she tricked us into coming back to Falls Creek. She told Theo that she’d help her get our mother back. The bitch was a liar and my sister fell for it. The heart will make you do stupid things.”
Elizabeth sounded like a bitch, but I wasn’t her. That wasn’t my fault. He couldn’t seriously be taking his need for revenge out on me.
“And she’s doing it again.”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Yes! Why else would she have let you go? Do you think my sister is innocent in some way? Let me guess, you think she’s the nice one. A tortured soul that pretends to be a villain but is actually a good person inside? No. You don’t know my sister Melinda. The only reason she let you go is because you look exactly like the love of her life.”
He smelled me. It was so strange. He looked like he was smelling a piece of dessert. I guess that was what I was to him.
“I’m going to make sure my sister is freed of Elizabeth once and for all.”
Chapter 21—Theodora
Someone was banging on our door. Incessantly and loudly.
“Who the bloody hell is doing that?” Sofia said, following me the down the stairs. “Don’t they know we don’t lock doors in this house?”
I rolled my eyes as I opened the door. Scarlett burst inside in a fit of rage. “Where is she?”
“Please, come in Scarlett,” I said. I closed the door. “Now, you’re going to have to be more specific.”
“Where is Melinda?”
I looked at her in shock. “Melinda’s missing?”
“Again. The last time she went missing your family was responsible. Call me crazy, but I figured this would be a good place to start looking for her.”
Christian came into the foyer from the living room. He smiled when he saw Scarlett. “Hello Love.”
“Don’t call me Love,” Scarlett spat.
“Whoa, what’s got her panties in a knot?”
“The littlest Sinclair is missing,” Sofia said despondently. She could care less. I on the other hand, was concerned.
“Calm down, we saw her at the bar earlier. The one with the watered-down alcohol. I had a half a mind to go back there and snap the owner’s neck. It’s thievery. Eight dollars for crappy gin?”
“Focus here Christian,” I said. “Was she there when you left?”
“Yes. When Alexander and I left she was still with the boy and the dog.”
“Dog?” Sofia asked.
“Werewolf,” Christian said, a look of disgust on his face.
Alexander. If she’s missing, he probably has something to do with it.
“She never came home. I called her friend and she said she went to the bathroom but vanished after that.”
I looked at Christian seriously, pleading with my eyes for him to be honest with me. “Christian, where is Alexander?”
Christian sighed, looking away from me. “Sister, he’s trying to do right by you.”
“He’s going to harm an innocent girl. Do right by me brother and tell me where he took her.”
His silence killed me. When he finally spoke, I let out a breath I had been holding. “He took her to the cemetery. The Sinclair mausoleum.”
Scarlett started towards the door.
“I’m coming with you.”
“No, you’re not.”
“He’s my brother. I have the best chance at stopping him without anyone being hurt or killed. I’m going. We can either go together or I can rush ahead of you, your choice.”
She glared at me. “Fine. Let’s go.”
“What do you have against vampires anyway?” I said. After the tenth time of Scarlett giving me a dirty look, I’d had enough. I did nothing to the woman aside from being who I was. She hated me. Yet she knew nothing of me.
“You’re not normal.”
I laughed. “And you are? You’re a witch. I was born a witch. I was never normal. None of us are normal Scarlett.”
“I was born what I am. You were created using dark magic.”
I tilted my head. “I agree.”
She stopped, surprise etched across her face. “You agree?”
“Yes. I don’t like being a vampire. I never wanted this life. But I am who I am. My family is who they are. I can’t change that. So, I learned to accept it. Perhaps you should do the same and stop it with the looks.”
She tightened her lips as we continued towards the mausoleum. As soon as we arrived, I walked inside first. She followed directly behind me.
Alexander was sitting on top of a casket, Melinda on the ground in front of him. She was injured. It looked to be a few cuts and bruises. Nothing she’d die from.
“I knew Christian could not be trusted. He pretends to be this fearful vampire, but he’s just a boy.”
I looked at Melinda. She had tears in her eyes, but I could see the relief that had washed over he
r face at seeing us.
“Alexander why are you doing this?” I asked.
“Theo, I see what this girl is doing to you!” He jumped down from the casket and stood before me. “I’m not blind. You’re sparing the girl. You should have killed her a long time ago. You should have killed all of the Sinclair’s for what their family did to us!”
“She’s not a threat to us,” I said. “None of them are.”
“Yes, she is!” he said, yelling in fury. “She’s a threat to you. I see how you look at her. You see Elizabeth. She’s your weakness and you’ll make the same mistakes again. You’ll choose this girl over your family.”
I shook my head adamantly. I thought the same at first, but then I watched Melinda. I didn’t know her well, but I could see in how she looked at me. She didn’t see me as the monster that everyone believed me to be. When I looked at Elizabeth, I could feel that she didn’t like who I was. I told myself that I was seeing things. But that was just me being desperate for Elizabeth to love me the way I loved her.
“You’re wrong. Melinda is nothing like Elizabeth. She’s pure and good and she doesn’t jump to the conclusion that we’re monsters just because she’s told we are. That’s why I let her go. Because I see that she is nothing like Elizabeth. Elizabeth was a vengeful person that only cared about herself. She ruined me. Don’t let her take anything else from us. Don’t let her make you the monster she painted us to be.”
I think I was getting through to him, but before I could tell for sure, Scarlett attacked. She managed to surprise Alexander and get him on his back. She pulled a stake from her back pocket and shoved it towards him, managing to pierce his skin. I had never seen a hunter move so swiftly. Scarlett wasn’t just some hunter. She was a hunter to be feared, and she was moments away from killing my brother.
“Stop!” I yelled.
Melinda rose to her feet and stepped behind me. I wanted to protect her, to get her out of there unscathed. But I wouldn’t repeat history. I needed to protect my brother.
There was something Scarlett needed to know about us. If she killed Alexander, she’d be killing her entire family along with him.
“I don’t see what’s so special about you people. I think my family was wrong about you all along. I think you aren’t so unkillable.”
“You’re right. We are killable. We can die, just like any vampire. If you push that stake through my brother’s heart, he will die. But so will you. So will Melinda.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“We’re linked to your bloodline. Why do you think they used your blood to put us down? Out of all the families of witches in the coven, they chose yours. It was because my father used it when he turned us into vampires. He bound us to your line to protect us from being killed. If one of us dies, all of you die. Every Sinclair will perish.”
Scarlett scowled before dropping the stake and twisting my brother’s neck. I felt relieved. He’d wake up with a sore neck, but he’d wake up.
“If you’re lying, I will kill every single one of you,” Scarlett said.
“And how are you going to prove me wrong? Ask your parents? Oh, wait, sorry I forgot they couldn’t deal with what they had become. Could they?”
“What do you mean?” Melinda asked.
I took a deep breath. Dammit.
In the midst of my anger, I forgot Melinda was still in back of me. My words were meant to hurt Scarlett, not Melinda.
I shook my head, going over to my brother. “Nothing. You two should go before he wakes. He’s going to be angry and I don’t know that I can convince him to let you live a second time.”
Melinda wasn’t satisfied with my answer, but she allowed Scarlett to lead her out of the mausoleum. As she went, she looked into my eyes.
I nodded my head, trying to convey to her that she was alright now. That I would talk to my brother and get him to back off of her. That she was safe. As long as I was around, I would make sure she remained that way.
Chapter 22—Theodora
“You let her snap my neck.”
Alexander was angry with me. Angry to the point of threatening to leave. Josephine was packing up some of her things. They were going back to New Orleans. And Alexander didn’t want me to go with them.
“I didn’t let her. I couldn’t stop her. She’s a very powerful hunter. I think she’s going to be a problem for us.”
“She’s not the only one that’s a problem. Her little sister is too. As long as she’s alive she…”
“Stop it!”
He looked at me in shock. I didn’t usually use such a fierce tone with him. He was my twin. We fought, but we were always on each other’s side. Regardless of being wrong or right.
“I’m asking you as your sister to let this go. Leave Melinda alone, please.”
His look softened, but he remained concerned. He came forward and put a hand on my shoulder. “I hope you know what you’re doing Theo. I get the feeling you’re going to regret getting involved with another Sinclair.”
“I’m not getting involved. I don’t want her to be a part of this.”
“Now that she knows who she really is, she’s always going to be a part of this, whether you want it or not.”
I feared he was right, which was one of the reasons I wasn’t fighting him on not going to New Orleans. I wanted to be in Falls Creek to look after Melinda. From afar of course. There was also the fact that our mother’s body was still unaccounted for.
Josephine came down the stairs. She looked between us carefully. “Ready to go?”
“Yes,” Alexander said. He pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly. I knew he was still angry with me, but he would never leave without a heartfelt goodbye. Our lives were dangerous. We’d experienced enough loss in our lives to know that life was short. Even eternal life could be cut short if you weren’t careful. “Watch your back Theo.”
Alexander and Josephine walked outside to load up the car.
Sofia came down the stairs, a bag packed.
I furrowed my eyebrows. “You’re going too?”
“Relax, I’ve got no woes with you like Alexander. I just know that someone needs to keep an eye on him. We both know our brother doesn’t do well without at least one of us by his side.”
“He has Josephine.”
“Someone who doesn’t worship the ground he walks on. Josephine will never keep him in check like we do. Besides, I miss New Orleans. I’m looking forward to seeing how much it’s changed and not changed hopefully.”
I hugged my sister. “Take care of yourself,” I said.
“You do the same. I have Christian keeping an eye on you. So, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Or would do?” She smiled mischievously.
“I’m sure I’m going to be the one watching Christian.”
“Watch each other. I love you Theo.”
“I love you Sofia.”
“Until we meet again.”
I was happy my sister was exploring the world, but I was sad to see them go. I wanted us together, as a family.
Life had other plans for us. And I knew in my heart that life would bring us back together again.
Chapter 23—Melinda
“What was Theodora talking about?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do!”
Scarlett was putting her weapons away.
“Leave it alone Melinda.”
I grabbed her arm, turning her around to face me. I was done with the lies. I wanted her to be honest with me. No! I needed her to be honest with me.
“Stop lying. What happened to Mom and Dad?”
“They were turned into vampires.”
If that were the case, that meant they were still alive. Why wouldn’t she tell me this? This was good news.
She saw the look of hope that appeared on my face. She shook her head. “No. They’re dead Melinda. They called me and told me everything. Dad killed Mom and then himself. Only they were dead before that. They were vamp
ires. They took their own lives because they refused to live as those things.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “They’re called vampires and they’re still people.”
“No, they’re not. Don’t let them confuse you. They’re masters at manipulation. Mom and Dad wouldn’t want us negotiating with vampires. They’d want us to do whatever we have to do to end them.”
“Well we can’t now, can we? Unless you have a death wish too.”
“Melinda, we have to find a way to stop them. They are monsters and…”
“So far, the only monsters I see are us. Theo has done nothing to harm me. She saved me!”
“Only because you look like her old lover, Elizabeth Sinclair. Only she wasn’t her lover. She pretended to be so that she could get her and her family out of the way.”
I descended from terrible people. I was shocked that Theo didn’t want me dead. If I really looked so much like Elizabeth, I’d want me dead. No wonder she was so damaged.
“Elizabeth Sinclair was a bitch. And so are you for that matter.”
She lifted an eyebrow in shock at my words. I was done trying to talk to Scarlett. All that came from her mouth was baseless accusations and bigoted remarks. When I went to walk away, Scarlett tried to stop me.
I pulled my arm from her hand. “Mom and Dad were so full of hate that they decided abandoning us would be better than living as something they despised. They’re bigots.”
“They were hunters and so are we.”
“I will never be a hunter. I don’t want to be anything like you or them.”
Whoever said the truth will set you free was on crack. The truth didn’t set anyone free. It only caused more heartache.
Chapter 24—Theodora
This week was hell. It started with getting my life back. I got my family back at the beginning of the week. And at the end of the week, I lost a portion of them.
The only thing keeping me standing was knowing that they were at least alive.
I was alone again.
My life was filled with so many questions now. Would Alexander come back? Would he forgive me?
