Chapter Nine
"Kira?"
She turned to the sound of his voice. In shock, Kira looked into the eyes of her grandfather. He reached out his hand and Kira took it as he pulled her to her feet.
"Hi," she said breathlessly, still exhausted from her fight.
"Would you follow me?" He asked. Kira nodded and walked next to him in silence as he led her back to his house.
Of course, Kira thought, the minute she decides to leave is the same minute her grandfather finally wants to talk to her.
He opened the door to his home and let Kira inside. Showing her to a seat in the dining room, he asked if she wanted tea and then disappeared into the kitchen. Kira waited on the hard wooden chair and looked around. Again, there were no personal photos really, just one of her grandparents at a much younger age playing in the waves at a beach somewhere. They were smiling and happy. For once, Kira thought, there was nothing mystical about anything. Just two people in love caught on camera.
"Here you go," her grandfather eased into a chair and set a transparent brown liquid in front of her. Kira caught the smell. It hinted of chamomile and she took a long soothing sip, letting the leaves do their work to calm her.
"So, Councilman, what can I help you with?" Kira asked, trying her hardest to stick to decorum.
"First," he leaned forward and took hold of her hand, "you can call me Henry." Kira smiled back at him and let the name roll around in the back of her mind. It wasn't 'grandpa' or 'pop-pop' but it was a start. "Second, I want to talk about you. None of us knew you had such raw power. Luke mentioned something like it, but without seeing it for ourselves, no one on the Council ever imagined. Taking on almost two-dozen vampires on your own is something to be proud of, but I sense that you are frightened too."
"A little," Kira responded, wondering how much she could open up. He was her grandfather, but he was also nearly a stranger. Although it would be nice to talk to someone who wasn't Luke or Tristan, someone with more authority. Once, Kira had tried to talk to her mother about her powers. All she ended up getting was a strained conversation about nothing. And her father was still in the dark about her double life. Come to think of it, Kira realized, her relationship with her parents was almost back to normal, as long as she pretended that nothing had changed. It might be nice to have a family she didn't have to hide her true self from.
Kira placed her attention back on Henry. "I used to be much more frightened. Now the only thing that really scares me is what happened today — when I lose control completely. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I don't know if I'll make it back to myself."
"That's what I thought," he said and patted her wrist in a subconscious affectionate gesture. "I don't know how to make you feel better. There hasn't been a mixed breed conduit in thousands of years, but I do have something that might help."
Reaching over to the chair next to him, he slipped a folder out from a bag Kira hadn't even noticed was there.
"I wasn't sure I would ever give these to you," he said while sliding the folder across the table. "I don't think anyone on the Council knew what to make of you at first, least of all me. We have an entire world to protect, and to be honest, I'm still not sure where you fit into that plan."
Kira nodded. The words were hard to hear but she would rather have the truth. Taking the folder, she flipped it opened.
"The missing pages," Kira said in surprise. She recognized the Chapter heading and writing instantly. They were from the book she had been reading so many months ago about the conduit history, the same one that led her on a journey to Luke's home on the night before the eclipse. He had said all of those pages had been destroyed. "But how?"
"The council has always held onto this information in secret. But I have to warn you, after reading what is inside, you may not think I'm doing you a favor. Some of that will be hard for you to read and hear, but I think it's better you know what you are and what you may potentially cause, especially after what I saw today. People say that having too much power is a curse and that it brings the bearer to the brink of madness. I think some extra knowledge might help you control yourself."
"Thank you," Kira said and closed the folder with the gulp. She would save that for later.
Now, she had something else to fess up to. Her grandfather had presented her with the truth and it was her turn to do the same. He had a right to know. "Henry?" She said, noticing that he had been about to stand back up and show her out.
"Something else you want to discuss?" He asked and sat back down fully.
"My mother, Lana." His eyes darted up to hers instantly. "I think she might be alive and I'm leaving tonight to go find her."
"Kira," he sighed, letting his forehead drop into his hands. "I used to think that all the time, but your mother is gone."
"A vampire told me she was still alive, held prisoner somewhere." He looked up now, eyes scrunched in confusion. "I have to try and I don't want to lie to you and sneak out. I'm leaving and I want the Council to know why. But, I'll be back. Can't get rid of me that easily." She ended lightly, trying to ease the sense of dread emanating from Henry's face.
"A vampire told you?"
"It's a long story," Kira sighed, still not ready to talk to him about Tristan and what happened last year. "But, I'll be traveling with a friend and I'll be perfectly safe."
"But—" He started and then stopped when he saw the tenacity written in her features. "Stubborn, just like your mother," he said quietly, almost like it slipped out without him noticing.
"Like my grandfather too, I think." Kira smirked. She squeezed his hand and then pulled her fingers free. She had a lot to do and she sensed that he needed some time alone. Tonight was huge for their relationship, Kira thought, but they still had a long way to go and it would happen one step at a time.
"Be careful," he said as she left. Kira looked back to see he hadn't moved from the table. He still sat sipping his tea and thinking silently to himself.
She clutched the folder tightly in her hands before stepping out into afternoon sun. The breeze had picked up a bit, but she enjoyed the cool touch. Kira imagined that all the conduits were still in the town square waiting for Luke and his search party to come back and tell them it was safe to go home. The UV wall, Kira knew, would be left on for a few days. Keeping the vampires out was the town's number one priority, so Kira knew she would never be able to sneak Tristan inside. The only way was to meet him past the wall. She sent him a text telling him to meet her by the gate in an hour and continued walking to Luke's home.
It was eerily silent when she stepped through the front door. Kira may have only been a resident for a handful of days, but the house, like Luke, seemed to always be alive and active. Whether it was TJ running around or Vanessa talking on the phone or Mrs. Bowrey cooking dinner, something was always going on. Now she walked up the creaking steps in silence, her feet like thunder on the floorboards.
When she got to Luke's room, Kira pulled her duffle from underneath the bed and started reloading her bag — the one she unfortunately had only unpacked the night before. Typical, Kira thought while stuffing her clothes back inside.
She didn't know how long she would be gone, so she gathered all of her things on the bed, placing them not so neatly in her bag. Tristan didn't know about her plan, but he had to see it coming. Kira had been anxious to find her mother ever since she had woken from the coma. A meeting with Diana was inevitable and there was no time like the present to go on a wild goose chase. But, where do you find a vampire who is faster than the wind? She asked herself. Hopefully Tristan had some thoughts, because Kira for one was fresh out of ideas.
Once her clothes were packed, Kira turned to the two drawings by her nightstand: one of her with Tristan and one of her with her parents. She pushed the framed sketch deep into the middle of her duffle bag so it was surrounded by clothes and safe from breaking. Gently, she slid the one of her and Tristan into the folder her grandfather had given her. She wouldn't be losing either any time soon. But, Kira thought wistfully while reaching for the chain against her neck, part of her wished she hadn't given her grandmother the locket. She had the foreboding sense that she might need its small yet calming influence in the future, but it was too late for that now.
All Kira had left to figure out was how she would get out of Sonnyville. She wasn't in love with the idea of theft, but stealing a car from someone was probably the only option. And hey, she had saved their butts this afternoon — a car wouldn't be a big deal, right?
Kira chewed on her lip, then slung her bag around her shoulder and left Luke's room. He hadn't come home and that made her decision easy. She would be leaving without him, which was probably for the best. Three's company didn't seem like such a great idea, especially when she would be smack dab in the middle of it all. She pushed any lingering doubts out of her mind when she reached the staircase and saw her exit so near at hand.
But, halfway down the steps, the front door burst open.
"Yeah, that was so cool. I want to take fencing now! I want to chop a vampire's head off!" Kira heard TJ's excited voice and then saw the entire Bowrey family walk through the front door behind him.
She froze up, like a deer caught in headlights. Luke saw her as soon as he stepped through the door. His features lit up then fell into a mask of confusion. She dropped the duffle from her shoulder, letting it fall down the steps with a thud. He watched as it cascaded to the ground floor.
The rest of the family was oblivious to what had just passed between the two of them, but Kira could already feel Luke's anger in the back of her mind. She tried to push it out of her head, but it was like a festering wound that wouldn't go away.
"Kira! That was so cool the way you burned those vamps to a crisp! You were like, 'Die! Die! Die!'" TJ completed his thoughts with an all-too-real evil laugh, then ran over and pulled on her wrist so she would come downstairs. She tried to smile at him, but it was hard when someone else's thoughts were commandeering her brain.
"Kira." She turned to the sound of Luke's voice, not sure if it was said aloud or in her head. "The porch?" He jerked his head to the side and she grabbed her bag to follow him outside.
"Hey Luke. What's up?" Kira said, trying to act casual now that they were alone outside. The warm air and stillness of the night only heightened her nerves. The porch light amplified the groves etched in Luke's skin and his pupils seemed to glow in fury.
"Were you really going to leave without telling me?" He asked. The strain in his voice grated at Kira's heart.
So no small talk then, she thought with a grimace.
"You weren't home..."
Luke raised both eyebrows in astonishment. "Really? That's the story you're sticking with? At least be imaginative. Say a voice in your head told you that you had to go this instant or something."
"Well, technically you're the only voice in my head...so are you telling me to leave?" Got him, Kira thought happily when he cracked a smile. She almost never caught Luke in his own jokes.
"No, I'm just telling you that I'm coming."
"Do you really think that's a good idea? You, me and Tristan — just the three of us — together on the hunt?" Sounds like a complete disaster to me, Kira ended her thoughts silently.
"What would the Flaming Tomato be without her trusty sidekick?" Luke asked and Kira laughed at the nickname he had given her a few days ago. She would definitely miss him if he didn't come.
"If you think you can handle it, then go get your stuff. I'll wait out here." He nodded in agreement and disappeared through the door.
Fifteen minutes later, Luke reappeared with a duffle in one hand and his entire family behind him. His mother looked notably depressed while TJ looked extremely jealous. His father's features were clouded with concern and Vanessa just glared in Kira's general direction.
Luke shrugged, as if to say sorry, but Kira should have expected the prolonged goodbye. After another ten minutes of hugs and kisses, tears from his mom and a final hushed speech about not messing with her brother from Vanessa, the two of them were off. And in a shiny new sports car no less.
Word got around quickly in this town, and Kira wasn't sure how, but almost every conduit family was outside of their house to wave goodbye to Kira and Luke as they drove away. She waved back. It wasn't goodbye forever, Kira reminded herself. As soon as things were figured out with her mother and Diana, she would be back. A little taste of Sonnyville wasn't enough. Just like Luke had predicted, the town and its inhabitants had gotten under her skin and Kira knew she would be back for more.
When they reached the last house on the outskirts of the town, Luke sped up a bit and Kira sent another text to Tristan. He would be waiting for them by the gate. The minutes ticked by in silence, as both Kira and Luke were lost in their own thoughts, thankfully each in their own minds.
When they reached the front gate, Luke slowed to a stop just before the invisible wall. Tristan appeared almost instantly on the other side, materializing out of the trees. Yet again, his shirt was in shreds and his pale, almost marble skin was showing. The hard lines of muscle along his stomach were unmarred with cuts and Kira let out a sigh. She knew he could handle himself, but seeing Tristan whole and unhurt was still a relief.
She jumped out of the car.
"My, my — another shirt torn to pieces? What will the neighbors think?" Kira said while putting on fake airs and walking closer to him. She laughed when he looked down as if only realizing for the first time that his clothes were cut up. He recovered from his surprise quickly.
"The better to ravish you with," Tristan replied with a grin, "it's all part of the plan."
"Which plan is that?"
"The one to make you fall hopelessly in love with me, of course."
"Well, I'm sorry to break your heart but it's not working at all," Kira replied and passed through the threshold of the UV wall, letting the light warm her for a final time. Tristan waited for her right on the edge, as close as was safe for him. Kira put her hand on his chest and he breathed in as her hand singed his stomach. "See? I'm not attracted in the slightest."
Clearly not true, Kira thought. Her breath became slightly more labored when she took one final step closer to him. And icy blue flash passed through his irises.
"I guess I'll have to try harder," he said softly and took hold of her arms. Kira loved this part: the anticipation of waiting was almost as good as the kiss itself. The moment hung between them, excitement bouncing back and forth between them, building a sizzling electric current between their bodies.
Beep!
Kira jumped about ten feet in the air before realizing that it was just Luke honking from the car. Her pulse raced, but for a completely different reason, one that wasn't nearly as fun to think about.
"Luke," Tristan said tersely and waved in his general direction. Kira had a feeling he had been wishing he could have used a different gesture, one with four less fingers involved, but Luke just waved back cheerily from the front seat.
"Oh," Kira changed the subject, realizing that the playful moment between she and Tristan was over. "Luke wanted me to ask if it was safe here. Have the vampires all fled?"
He nodded and shouted for Luke to pull through the gate.
When the car shuddered to a halt, Luke shut it off and walked over to Kira and Tristan.
"Dude, your dry cleaning bills must be huge," he said to Tristan, taking note of the lack of clothing. "Luckily, I have a spare. Here you go," he said and tossed a blue cotton bundle in Tristan's direction.
"Thanks," Tristan said when he caught it, surprised at the gesture. After stripping off what was left of the black T-shirt he'd had on, Tristan pulled the new shirt over his head. It pulled tightly across his chest, which was slightly broader than Luke's and had more muscle tone. But, that wasn't what made Kira bark out a laugh as soon as he put it on.
"What?" He asked. Kira shook her head with uncontrollable giggles and Luke let out a chuckle too. Tristan looked down at what he had thought was a plain, blue crew neck. Boy, had he been wrong.
Ironed on to the front of the shirt was a puppy in a Darth Vader costume and the slogan, 'Do I look evil to you?'
Immediately, Tristan started to tug it off. Kira reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Stop, I think it's adorable," she said with a smile, still not totally able to control her mirth. "Besides, we have more important things to discuss, like where we're going and how we're planning on finding Diana."
Hoping the boys would follow, Kira turned back to the car, but no so fast that she didn't catch the smirk Luke threw Tristan's way. It was going to be a very long drive, she sighed as she pulled the passenger side door back open and stepped inside.
"So, where to?" Luke asked and started the engine.
"The last place I tracked Diana to was Baltimore. She's been heading north, but I'm not sure what her final destination is."
"Baltimore it is then." Kira reclined her seat, trying to get comfortable. "That's what, a fifteen hour drive?"
"Probably sixteen," Luke put the car into drive. The sluggish engine mirrored his mood.
"Cool," Kira said, looking from boy to boy. Well, this is going to be fun, she thought into the complete silence of the car. Sixteen hours and not a single thing to talk about...bring on the party.
She looked over at Luke's tight grasp on the steering wheel, and then flicked her eyes back to Tristan's crossed arms. As always, it would be up to her to make peace.
"So, how was the fight out here?" Kira asked finally, trying to break the tension.
"Fun," Tristan said, the memory lighting up his features. "You guys really have something going with that UV wall. I was amazed it worked so well."
The image of Tristan catapulting vampires came to Kira's mind and she couldn't help but smirk. The idea that Tristan didn't mind killing his own kind comforted Kira in a strange way. She knew he wasn't evil and he would never be killing anything that had a shred of goodness in it. So, it must be all right for her to be doing the same thing. Truthfully, it had become all too easy to kill vampires at a moments notice. There was a numbness about it that she didn't like, an almost cruel lack of remorse or pain on her part.
The emptiness reminded her of the one fear she had when she found out what she was, the fear of being evil — of being destined to do terrible things. She had pushed those thoughts to the side since coming to Sonnyville, but her loss of control had reawakened those doubts and they had slowly been invading her thoughts during the past few hours. Like her grandfather said, with the power came the moments where she lost not only the hold over her power but over her senses as well. What would she have done without Luke to break the spell? Would she still be in the center of the square throwing flames at nothing, or would she have passed out and maybe even died?
"Kira?" Luke asked
"Hm?" She looked over at him, distracted enough to force her questions away again.
"What's up? I just made an awesome joke and I didn't even get a laugh out of you. You okay?"
"Maybe she just didn't think it was funny," Tristan said under his breath.
"Eh, not possible." Luke responded cavalierly.
"I didn't think it was funny." Tristan shrugged.
"Yes, but you're more than a hundred and fifty years old. You still think knock-knock jokes are funny. Kira and I, on the other hand, have a more modern sense of humor."
"Knock-knock jokes, huh?" Tristan questioned, egging Luke on.
He took the bait. "What, still too 21st century for you?"
"No, I just have a good one, come to think of it." Luke rolled his eyes in the rearview mirror, glancing sidelong at Kira in the process.
"What's your joke?" Kira asked, slightly nervous for what was about to happen. Her palms started to sweat a little.
"Knock-knock," Tristan said, a smirk starting to gather on his face. Kira caught the mischievous glint that always appeared in the corner of his eye when he was about to do something troublesome.
"Who's there?" Luke asked.
"My fist."
"My fist who?"
"Don't you get it?" Tristan asked, full on grinning at this point with dimples puckering on his cheeks. "I just metaphorically punched you in the face."
"Tristan!" Kira tried to reprimand him. But, he caught the twitch of her lips. It was only there for an instant, but Kira knew any chance of lecturing him on treating Luke nicely was over for the time being. She couldn't help it though — the joke was funny!
"Yes, well," Luke retorted, "clearly we're just on totally different wavelengths because I didn't find that funny at all. That shirt, however, is hilarious." He looked pointedly at the adorable puppy on Tristan's chest.
Kira rolled her eyes and pushed the radio on with her toe, too lazy to sit up and do it.
"Hey, watch your feet. This is a nice car," Luke slapped her foot away and fussed with the radio until he found a station to stop on.
"Whatever, I'm going to sleep," Kira said and rolled over, turning her back on both boys and reclining her seat the rest of the way. If there was anything her new, slightly insane, life taught her, it was sleep whenever you got the chance because you never knew when a vampire was going to come along and try to flip your car over.
Tristan put his feet up and stretched them between the front seats. His hand appeared next to her face and she reached hers up to clasp it. It was cool to the touch, but Kira had gotten used to the sensation. The freeze balanced out her normally scorching temperature.
Maybe this would be good for them, Kira thought hopefully. In Charleston, Tristan and Luke barely spent any time together. Luke could run off with Dave or Miles while Kira hung out with Tristan, and Tristan could easily disappear whenever he wanted to. Unless there were big school functions, like graduation or senior beach day, the two of them stayed pretty far apart. Come to think of it, even at those functions, they kept their talks down to grunted hellos and forced pleasantries. If they were both her best friends, then it only made sense that they were similar enough to like each other.
She squeezed Tristan's hand and he reciprocated. Too tired to turn around again, she pictured his relaxed face as it leaned against the back of the seat. He was always the first to wake up when he snuck in and spent the night. Tristan always blamed it on his heightened vampire senses — he always knew when her heart was speeding up to wakefulness. But, Kira liked to think that he just enjoyed watching her sleep. Not in a creepy way, just for the few moments before she woke up: the few moments where her face was completely free of worried stress lines and she was undeniably safe in his care. In all of his drawings, she looked so happy and at peace, and Kira guessed she only looked that calm asleep.
But that wouldn't happen this time because when she woke up tomorrow it would be all business. And well, she thought of the two men next to her, playing referee.