Change of Fate (The Briar Creek Vampires, #4) by Jayme Morse & Jody Morse (25 page)

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 thoughts 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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Jayme Morse and Jody Morse are sisters that reside in
the Poconos. They write young adult paranormal romance and
suspense.