Bound in Blood 1 Clandestine (13 page)

Emily let him help you. I summoned him.
It was the peculiar
voice in her head again. It had never been that directly personal
before.

Despite the fact that the voice was trying to help her, she
wanted to scream. Some partof her knew she wasn’t insane and
should trust the voice. The other part wanted to reserve her very
own room in the psych ward. Emily noted that the more she
thought about it, the voice did sound like Sebastian… if that was
even possible. Finding him had to be a priority. He was going to
answer her questions one way or another. If his was the voice
she was hearing, she deserved an explanation as to why he was
invading her thoughts. Not to mention he needed to explain how
the heck that was even possible.

“H
ello? Earth to Emily. You still here?” She realized Tyler
had been waving a hand in front of her face trying to get her
attention. “You sure space out a lot don’t you?” The hesitation
was gone from Tyler completely.

“Sorry I just have a lot on my mind,” sh
e apologized. Then,
her mind sparked with an idea. “Hey Tyler!” She realized she
sounded frantic and toned it down a few notches. “Sorry. Did
you see the guy I was talking to a minute ago?” Emily stared at
him hopefully, praying he could confirm her suspicions.

“What guy? When I came in you were alone.” Tyler looked
utterly perplexed. He looked around the room as though he could
have gotten a glimpse of the mystery man Emily spoke of.

Not wanting to let go of the thread, Emily pressed on.
“What about on your way in? Did you see a guy all in black with
crazy intense green eyes?” If Tyler saw Andre then maybe he
would have some opinion. He totally didn’t look like one of the
pod people, Stepford Wife combinations. Surely he had to have
seen him. Emily bounced her leg impatiently waiting.

Tyler seemed to give the question some real thought.
“Nope, I’m a guy.” He pointed at his chest and sounded
obnoxiously sarcastic. “I try to only pay attention to crazy eye
intensity in a hot girl.” He gave her a sarcastic smile and winked.

Emily ignored the implication completely and sighed. “Oh
well never mind.” Emily felt utterly morose. Just when she
thought she had someone to talk to about everything too.
“Sorry,” she apologized again. “Like I said, just a lot on my
mind.”

“Huh?” What did that mean? He’s supposed to help her
with what, her internet search? Emily was incredibly confused.
How could someone she didn’t even know help her? Maybe he
knew something about what was going on in Lakeview. That
didn’t seem very likely though. Tyler had just moved to town.
How could he possibly know what was going on?

Tyler leaned in closer to her before continuing. “I can’t
explain it. It’s just this feeling I get every time I’m around you. I
know it’s crazy but you’ve gotta believe me.” He spoke in a
hushed whisper.

Emily wasn’t sure why, but she did. It was true
that she
really didn’t know him. At the same time, that didn’t seem to
make a difference. For one, with all the weird things happening
lately,she couldn’t turn a cheek at this even if she wanted to. It
sounded normal compared to the other stuff that had been
happening. Second, she felt safe with him. It was kind of like the
feeling shegot when she was with Sebastian. “I believe you,”
Emily said firmly.

“Really?” Tyler sounded shocked. He leaned back in his
chair stunned. “I thought you would think I was nuts, or trying to
feed you a line or something.” His astonishment was softened
with relief.

H
is expression was kind of cute. “If it was a line, it
wouldn’t have been a very good one,” Emily admitted with a
smile.

She allowed herself to look at him more closely. He was
quite attractive. Emily had noticed that the first day she saw him
in Blake’s. Now she could also see that he had high cheek bones
and dimples. His eyes even crinkled a little whenever he smiled.
They were blue, a very pretty blue. They were the blue of the sky
on a cloudless sunny day. They weren’t as deep and gorgeous as
Sebastian’s, but pretty.

Tyler’s face grew thoughtful. He cocked his head to the side
for a second then shot her an incredulous look. “I think I’m
supposed to walk you home.” He looked startled by this
revelation.

Let him walk you home, it will be safer
. The voice she
thought might be Sebastian’s rang through her head again.
Instead of condemning herself to crazy town for the fact she
was hearing voices, she let herself accept it. If nothing else, at
least it was giving her sound advice. She wondered if Tyler
heard it too. It would surely explain the odd turn this
conversation had taken.
“Okay,” Emily was unsure, though it would make her feel
better to not have to walk home alone. Lord knew where Andre
was and she didn’t want to find out while she was by herself.
Honestly, she didn’t want to find out while with Tyler either. At
least this way, she wouldn’t be alone. She clicked off the web
browser and hoisted up her back pack to leave.
It was a pretty long walk home. They had to cross the center
of town and then through the residential streets to get to where
she lived. Tyler and Emily walked a lot of it in silence. Emily’s
eyes kept darting around looking for a lurking Andre. Every
noise went through her like a gun shot.
The temperature outside had cooled down considerably. A
breeze blew around them ruffling the leaves in the trees. Emily
wished she had thought to put a hoodie in her backpack.
Without warning she opened her big crazy mouth breaking
the silence. Emily began to verbally vomit everything that had
happened and she couldn’t stop it. Apparently that was becoming
a habit. She was going to have to invest herself into making a
real effort to use a filter when explaining things. For now it was
kind of pointless. She told him about the night in the alley. She
didn’t leave anything out about Sebastian, Luke, or the bus. The
bus flowed into telling him about Andre in the computer lab.
Emily even took a chance and told him about her and Lucy’s
theories of what they were. She never gave Tyler an opportunity
to answer. Afraid to even take a breath, she hurried through
every sorted detail.
She stopped, waiting for him to say anything that would
indicate that he didn’t think she was delusional. Hopefully, he
wouldn’t dismiss the information and tell her how crazy she
already felt. For awhile, Tyler didn’t say a word. Emily snuck a
look at him out of the corner of her eye. It didn’t look like he
wanted to laugh or anything. He just looked thoughtful, like he
was trying to absorb everything that had just poured into his
head. Just when Emily started to really worry, Tyler broke into
the awkward silence.
“I think I know why I feel like I’m supposed to help you
now.” Tyler sounded hesitant but calm. There was no trace of
mockery or sarcasm in his words.
“Really? Why?” That was all Emily could muster.
He slowed his pace and then stopped altogether to turn
toward her. “I came to Lakeview because of one of those
feelings. It was sort of like the one I got telling me to help you. I
was going through a lot where I lived in Ridgeway and didn’t
know how to deal with it. Something told me to come here. The
thing is, I don’t know anyone here and really, had never heard of
this town. I think it has something to do with the vampires. ”
Tyler’s voice broke off with an involuntary shudder. “Do you
remember the first time I met you in the book store?” He didn’t
even give Emily a chance to answer before he continued. As he
spoke his fingers flexed and unflexed making the tension he felt
visible. “I wasn’t really looking for a book for my mom. I don’t
even know who my mother is. Well, not personally anyway.
Something told me to go there and where to find that book.” He
stopped talking and just watched her for a moment.
Emily thought about that. She remembered the title of the
book he bought, Supernatural
Hunter
. She shuddered
convulsively. If what he was saying were true, that would make
sense as to why she had never seen it there before. If some force
wanted Tyler to have the book and just brought it and him to a
logical place so it could be retrieved… Well never mind, maybe
it didn’t make perfect sense after all. She just couldn’t wrap her
head around the idea that some mystical force brought Tyler to
Lakeview to aid against the vampires. It just seemed way too
Twilight Zone
.
What did all of it mean? She had to admit, it was a profound
relief to release the nonsense that had been cluttering up her
mind lately. That Tyler hadn’t rejected her afterward was a huge
bonus. The new burden of Tyler’s information was more than a
little overwhelming. It was sort of like getting rid of one problem
just to have it replaced by another. His was worse than hers
because it was more than just random theories being thrown out
into the wind. Maybe he had thrown his out too, and it was
looking like… they stuck.
Tyler took Emily’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m
gonna need you to trust me. I want to tell you my story but I
have to know you trust me first.” His blue eyes pleaded with her
to understand.
Emily gave him an answering smile of reassurance. “I trust
you. I just told you all I knew. So nowit’s your turn right?”
Tyler took a deep breath in preparation and gripped her
hand. “I know this all is gonna seem crazy to you. Just let me get
it all out before you judge alright?”
Emily gulped. “Can’t be much crazier than I’ve already
experienced right? Just spit it out Tyler.”
Without further hesitation, Tyler jumped into his tale.
“Vampires are real. I know they are, I knew before I saw one in
real life.” Heswallowed hard. “Well, I guess I’ve never
technically seen one, at least not up close. It’s just a feeling.”
Tyler shrugged a shoulder noncommittally, as though what
he was saying was no big deal. “It’s like this, I’ve lived a totally
normal life up until now. I never had my… feelings until the
other changes started. When I heard about a crime on the news, I
could tell if it was a vampire cover-up or something done by a
human. I can’t explain it. It just happened one day. The news
wastalking about a girl’s dead body found in a park. I thought to
myself…
vampire
."
He paused, remembering that day before moving on to the
rest of the story. " My body started to change, I had muscles that
hadn't been there before. It made no sense since I hadn't been
working out. I started dreaming of fighting strategies, ways to
take down the bloodsuckers. Without formal training, I would
wake up able to do the moves I had been taught in my sleep. I
could run faster, walk quieter and jump seriously crazy heights,
like they were nothing.”
“Are you saying you’re psychic?” Emily interrupted.
“I don’t know. I just get these weird feelings about things.”
Emily was still confused. “How can your dreams teach you
to fight?” As she said it she thought of her own dream with
Alexander. She stilldidn’t know if that had been real, or was just
a figment of her imagination. If it was real, maybe it somehow
related to what Tyler was talking about.
“If I knew, I would be telling you. Just let me get this all out
before you interrupt again.” Tyler gave her hand another squeeze
before letting it go.
“Okay I’m sorry, you’re right.” Emily still needed answers,
but locked her lips anyway and waited for him to continue.
He took another deepbreath and started in again. ”This one
day before I left Ridgeway, I found a cat that some neighborhood
kids had trapped under an exposed tree root.” Tyler’s eyes
narrowed with the memory. “It was ridiculous. I didn’t have
anything to tear away the root and the cat was yowling, trying to
get loose. All I could think was how helpful a knife would be.
Then just like that, I felt a wave of energy and when I looked
down at my hand,there was a knife in it.” He held up his hand
and looked down at it like the knife was still there. “I had never
seen it before, but it was sharp… deadly sharp. It was the perfect
tool for freeing the cat. I put my hand on the cats head willing it
to chill out. The cat didn’t budge while I quickly cut him free.”
Tyler dropped his hand to his side and looked up at Emily. “I
know saving a cat doesn’t have much to do with vampires, but
that’s when I discovered I could ask for something in my mind
and somehow make it happen. When I got the feeling to come
here to Lakeview I knew deep in my core that it was because
there were vampires here.
Emily’s mouth dropped open. “Wait… just wait. Are you
screwing with me? There’s no frickin way you can just make a
knife appear out of thin air.” Her mind was whirling with the
possibilities.
“Hey, you said you wouldn’t interrupt again.” Tyler replied
only slightly exasperated. “I know it doesn’t sound logical o
r
reasonable. It’s true though, I swear.” He put a hand on her
shoulder. “I’m still not done though,so let me get this all out.”
For an answer and apology, Emily said nothing. She just
stood there expectantly waiting for the rest. What Tyler said,
sounded totally farfetched and it wasn't scientifically possible.
Though she had made a promise and did her best to shut down
the analytical part of her mind.
“So… I also find that in the dark my vision sharpens, like I
have night vision goggles or something.
Emily wanted badly to ask if maybe he had just said
abracadabra and night vision goggles appeared and maybe he
had just forgotten about it. That probably wasn’t the best thing
right then so she kept her sarcasm to herself. She didn’t want to
be rude and say what she was thinking. It was just that it sounded
almost more unbelievable than what she had been through. She
mentally chided herself for getting distracted and continued
listening.
“In the book I got from your store, I learned ways that past
hunters havekilled off the leeches. It’s like a time honored
tradition or something. The hunter’s presence is just as much of a
secret as the vampires. Apparently not all vampires are evil
though. Some choose to live a modest life refraining from killing
human’s while feeding. That’s just as dangerous, even though it
doesn’t seem like it would be. I’ve been watching the ones you
have been talking about, that Andre guy and the one that seems
to be his girlfriend, or whatever. I think she is called Lina? I
haven’t seen them kill, but I have seen them bring humans into
their house like you have. The weird thing is, that most of them
return back out looking unharmed, just a little dazed. I don’t
know what they are planning but I’m sure it’s not good.
That just didn’t make any sense. Tyler’s words implied that
Andre and Lina were amongst the modest vampires. How could
that be true if they were also up to something really bad? Emily
pondered different ideas, weighing them out in her mind. There
was some connection that she wasn’t able to put together. It was
just out of reach and driving her crazy.
Tyler went on. “Since moving here,I’m more sure that I am
destined to be one of these hunters. I wonder if my parents had
this ability. They died when I was only two so I don’t remember
anything about them. My adoptive parents didn’t know much
either.” Tyler’s eyes drifted back to Emily and he seemed
startled. It was almost as if he had forgotten she was even there
with him.
Emily didn’t know what to say. It would seem that all of h
er
horrifying suspicions were now confirmed. In one conversation
Tyler had turned her entire world upside down forever. The
question now wasn’t if she was crazy, but why this was
happening and how it could be stopped. Emily just stood there
like an idiot, not knowing what the next logical step should be.
She looked around at the houses that surrounded them. The
streets of Lakeview were once a peaceful safe haven. A person in
need could knock on any of the doors and ask for help and in
turn be given the aid that would make them whole again. On the
corner across the street, she saw where one of her childhood
friends had once lived. Now it was owned by a young couple
starting a new home. They had made several renovations,
refreshing its look to something similar to Emily’s memories.
The sun was lowering, becoming hidden in the trees off in
the distance. “Um, we should get walking before it gets any
darker.” Emily was somber as she spoke. Despite that, her
growing unease was evident.
She couldn’t disguise the feeling of dread at the
approaching nightfall. Recent events had proven she hadn’t had
much luck during that time of day. Now it seemed as though
Andre was figuring out that Emily knew something. Why else
would he have targeted her in the computer lab? If he hadn’t
walked behind her, he would have never seen what she was
looking up on the internet.
Tyler kept her hand as they walked. It didn’t bother her at
all though. It actually made her feel safer. She liked that he was
the one she shared her information with. Fate must have brought
him to her knowing she needed help.
“Tyler?” Emily asked. “I think Sebastian might be one of
the good… vampires.” It was so hard to even say the word. It
caught in her throat and Emily had to force it out.
His hand gripped harderon hers for a second. “Don’t worry
Emily. He’s not, I can assure you of that. I don’t get that vibe
from him.” He was stone serious as he answered her. He
appeared to have no doubt in his mind that his words were the
truth.
Emily shot him an incredulous look. “Well if he’s not a
vampire what is he? He seems to have power of some kind.
Rememberthat voice I told you about in my head? I can’t
explain it, but I am starting to think it’s his voice.”
Tyler gave her an mystifiedlook. “Got me. I’m new to all
this too, youknow. I don’t have a guide book to the supernatural.
I just know it’s real and thatI’m wrapped up in the middle. It
seriously sucks.”
“Yeah, sucks isn’t even the word for it.”
Emily folded her arms around herself,but she wasn’t cold.
She needed some sense of security. Some sense that she, Emily
Marie Jameson was still real. She was trying to come to grips
with the new reality that had settled over her life.
Before long, they were only a block away from her house.
She led him the opposite route that Sam usually took. She dug
her cell phone out of her pocket to check the time. Good, Sam
wouldn’t be home for quite a while. Tyler could walk her all the
way to her door unnoticed.