When we landed at the tiny airport, I realized we weren't even in the same country Tristan had left in his note, and he immediately arranged for the plane to be flown to the location where he'd said it would be. A mental slap wasn't enough. I deserved to be physically punched.
What is
wrong
with me? I can't doubt him! We have to stick together.
I couldn't let other people's ignorance and prejudices get to me. That would only make things worse for us.
Two days later, we arrived on U.S. soil without incident, and if it weren't the L.A. airport, I might have dropped to my knees and kissed that soil. Until we'd left the Keys for Greece, I'd never been out of the United States. My publicist had wanted me to do an international signing tour when my books became popular overseas, but I refused–the U.S. tours were difficult enough. Though California was one of the few states I'd never lived, I felt as though I was home. Just hearing (mostly) English with American accents gave me a sense of normalcy. And to make it better, no one looked at me with an ounce of recognition.
"Are we almost home?" Dorian asked while we studied the departure boards, trying to decide where to go next–where to start our search.
Hmm … home?
I wasn't quite sure where "home" was yet.
"We can't go to your old home," Tristan said. "We talked about that, remember?"
"I know we can't live there anymore, but can we go visit? I want to show Joey and everyone else at school that you're real and not a shithead."
I fought the urge to laugh. Tristan raised an eyebrow.
"Watch your mouth, little man," I warned, hiding my smile.
"But that's what Joey called Dad, and it's not true!" He lifted his chin and stuck his lower lip out in a defiant pout. "Maybe Dad can beat up their dads. They're the real shitheads."
I couldn't help it. This time I full-out laughed, and Tristan and Owen joined me. We all had a hard spot in our hearts for the publicity and rumors about Dorian's father abandoning me when I was pregnant.
"We're going to do the right thing and leave them alone," I finally said. "If there's something you miss from home, though, we can get another one."
"Naw. I got Dad now." He took Tristan's hand and grinned. "And I'll be getting my dog soon."
He apparently hadn't forgotten about that birthday present.
We still didn't have a real plan, but traveling was obviously a necessity. Whether we'd establish a home base first or tow Dorian around with us on our search, we hadn't yet decided. Now that we were at least in the States and hadn't been detected by Daemoni so far, Tristan should be able to concentrate on a plan. But first, we had to get out of L.A., which held a certain attraction for Daemoni, and it was only a matter of time before someone sighted us. We decided to fly to Salt Lake City first–it was safe, convenient and one of the first flights available after we passed through customs.
Salt Lake was convenient because Tristan happened to have the key to the safety deposit box he had there, one key of only a few he picked up before we left Miami. Along with a nice stash of cash, the box held a false ID for him, so we could check into a hotel under a different name. It was also convenient because "one of his guys," who created false identification, lived nearby. Leave it to Tristan to know the one guy who was probably the only shady character in the whole state of Utah.
While Tristan focused on our plan, Owen and I taught Dorian the rules of the game–if anyone asked, he was to give them his pretend name and say he was Tristan's brother and I was his brother's girlfriend. Owen was their cousin. We helped him memorize everyone's fake names, and he practiced calling me "Angela" instead of "Mom." I felt bad for him–just as he would grow used to this game, we'd have to create a new one, with different names and relationships. At least he was intelligent.
"How's it coming?" I asked Tristan a while later, sitting behind him on the bed and rubbing his shoulders. Owen had left to retrieve dinner, and Dorian sat in front of the television, engrossed in a cartoon.
"I've considered the options, and the best one for Dorian's safety and protection is to give him a home. Our search might be dangerous–too risky to have him with us. We should also be near a colony, for extra protection."
"A colony? Is that what you call a village in the New World?"
He chuckled. "No, silly. A village is
only
Amadis, living together, usually under a shield. A colony is where many Amadis have settled in close proximity to each other, but among Normans."
"A Chinatown for Amadis?"
"Exactly, but not so obvious. Normans don't see anything unusual."
"Do Daemoni?"
"Some. But colonies aren't isolated or cloaked like villages, so the Daemoni would be stupid to attack in front of so many Norman witnesses, if they even found us. And there are a lot more colonies in the U.S. than there are villages. So … where would you like to live, my love?"
I stopped kneading his shoulders in mid-motion. I hadn't expected to be able to choose where we lived. I was happy to be in the U.S. "
Any
where?"
"Pick a place and I'll tell you if it's an option."
"Hmm …" I moved my hands down his back as I considered. I thought about the many places Mom and I had lived over the years and the many more where we hadn't, but at this point, I sought comfort and familiarity. My first choice probably wasn't possible, so I hesitated before finally blurting it out. "Florida?"
"We can do Florida. If the girl's been hidden under your noses, I think she's in the Southeast, so Florida works." He paused. "But not the Keys. Not the beach house."
"Okay."
"And not Miami. In fact, probably not the east coast at all."
I smiled. "Even better. Because I really liked Cape Heron, but I know we can't go there."
"No, but …" He grinned.
"But?" I asked, excited by his smile and the promise in his tone.
"There's a colony near Fort Myers."
I bounced into his lap. "Really? We can really go that close?"
"It's not all that close to Cape Heron." He kissed me on the forehead, his eyes sparkling brightly. "And you will love it."
"Close to the beach?"
"
On
the beach."
I threw my arms around his neck. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"My pleasure." His mouth found mine, and I wouldn't let him go, at least, not until Owen returned with the perfect welcome-home meal: cheeseburgers and fries.
Our conversation with Mom later that night killed my buzz. After a series of ring signals, we called her from a pre-paid cell phone Owen picked up at the drugstore, set on speaker so we could all three participate in the conversation. She delivered good news first: we lost the Daemoni after leaving Kuckaroo, and they had no idea where we were. But the Daemoni staked out the Amadis villages worldwide–they couldn't see them, but they knew their general locations and stood guard in case we tried to seek their protection.
They'd given up watch on my Atlanta house, so Mom and Charlotte were planning a trip to retrieve a few things and convert it to a permanent safe house. Then Mom said they had Amadis business to watch over in the States, so they'd be here for a while. She was concerned about leaving Rina, though, and that was the bad news: the situation among the council had only worsened.
"I never fully understood Rina anyway, but she's acting very strange," Mom said. "When she's alone with Solomon and me, she's normal. Concerned about all of you, wanting to send protectors out for you, missing you. But when she's with the council members–which is a lot, they've been holding so many meetings lately–she's completely different. She doubts herself and even agrees with some of their points about you two not being entirely trustworthy. She's been spending a lot of time with Julia, and I'm not sure that's a good thing."
"Of course it's not! Julia and her little group are the problem," I said. "They're obviously a negative influence on her."
"Julia's always been supportive, though," Owen said. "She and Rina have been close almost since the day she came over to the Amadis."
"I think Solomon is the only vampire you can fully trust, though," Mom said.
"Very true," Owen admitted, and Tristan nodded in agreement.
"I've never been able to lock onto any truths with Julia," Mom said, "which tells me her loyalty changes with her best interests."
"That's exactly what I get from her," I said. "You knew that and still doubted me?"
"At the time, yes, and I'm sorry, honey. Rina's always trusted Julia so much. Even if I didn't trust her completely, I never thought she would betray Rina so blatantly. I'm still not so sure …"
"I am," I said firmly. I had no doubts at all about Julia. "Has she told anyone about Dorian yet?"
"Is it true? Does Dorian really have powers?"
"We don't know, actually," Tristan said, glancing at Dorian's sleeping lump under the covers of one of the beds. "He revealed a couple things when we were on the island, but hasn't since then. We were hoping the magic of the island was boosting what little bit he had, and he'd lose it after we left."
"Hmm … hold on." She kept silent for a few seconds. "I'm not feeling that truth."
Mine and Tristan's eyes locked with dreadful understanding.
"Keep an eye on him," Mom said. "You'll be in even more danger if anyone finds out. There are already nasty debates about providing you protection at all. Many of the village mayors say they won't take you in. People are scared, and it will only be worse if Dorian has powers. The Daemoni's hunt will intensify."
"So Julia and the others still have two threats they're holding against Rina–Dorian and our daughter," Tristan said.
Mom started to say something–another denial–but I interrupted her. "Did you ever find out who else was with Julia and Rina in the Council Hall, right before we left?"
"There was no one else," Mom said. "None of us sensed anyone and, in private, when Rina is more herself, more honest and direct, she still says there was no one else there–not in body or in mind. She didn't detect any other thoughts."
I looked at Owen and Tristan, and they both shook their heads.
"She's a powerful blocker, then. I heard someone else in that room. Or at least in the building."
"Things are such a mess here, I honestly don't know what to believe," Mom admitted. "But I do know you misunderstood at least one thing. Rina is not hiding your daughter from you."
"She may not be hiding her. She may not be aware of her location," Tristan said, "but it sounds like she knew the girl exists."
"No, you have it all wrong. If you heard right, Alexis, if they're even blackmailing Rina in the first place, that's not the secret she's been keeping–" Mom paused. "Someone's coming. I have to go. I don't want anyone knowing I've talked to you. It's not … stable enough here."
The line went dead.
"Son of a witch!" I pounded the table, cracking it in half. "What the hell was she saying?"
"Rina's not part of the conspiracy," Owen said with an I-told-you-so tone. He thrust his hands at the table and fixed the damage.
"But she is hiding something," Tristan said. "Something about our daughter."
Trees, rocks and land blurred into streaks of green, brown and gray beyond the rental car's window as we raced along the highway pointed southeast. Once our identification documents were finished in Utah, we flew to Nashville, and now we headed toward Chattanooga. Tristan wanted to make a stop before heading south to Florida.
"We all need to be on alert," he said as we began climbing into the foothills. He kept his voice low enough so only Owen and I could hear–too low for Dorian's still-human hearing. "You can't trust faeries."
"Then why …?" I started to ask. "Wait–did you say
faeries
? We're going to see real-life faeries? They
exist?
"
Tristan chuckled, apparently finding it amusing that I could still be shocked at some things. I found it annoying.
"We'll only see one, maybe two, if they're there. They come to our world more than most faeries, but they're also in the Otherworld a lot."