Jude Stephens (24 page)

Cheve was not happy with my answer. “You haven’t had
enough control training to filter yet. We have to work on
that.”

Janel smiled at him, “Can I watch?”

Cheve took a step back. Alex laughed. Bullet sat
back down beside the table and I couldn’t help but feel like things
were normal once more.

I said to Alex, “I think there’s another vampire at
the table over there.” I pointed to a tall pretty woman with long
black hair.

Alex looked and Janel chimed in, “Oh no. That’s
Aida. She isn’t a vampire, she’s a chupacabra.”

“
A chupacabra? What’s that?” I
asked.

Alex answered. “A chupacabra is a close cousin to
the vampire, which is most likely why you thought she was vampire.
There is a subtle difference with some primate DNA being
interwoven. Only those skilled can tell the difference.”

Janel added “He’s right. I only know because she’s a
patient.”

There was so much to this new world that I needed to
learn about. A waitress came and we ordered. I wondered when Alex
was going to hunt when he excused himself from the table. Janel and
I chatted for awhile catching up on what we were doing. The way she
spoke of the doctor at the clinic I had a feeling that she was
indeed involved with him. I felt bad for Andy, but this was nothing
new for Janel. She flitted from man to man and I once again
wondered if she would ever find the man who could tame her. I
realized that Alex had been gone for awhile and voiced my concerns,
“I wonder where Alex went. He’s been gone for a while now.”

Janel said, “He went to feed.”

“
How do you know that?”

“
When he ordered, he asked for the
breakfast special. That for a vampire is the animal of the
day.”

“
Ewww…I don’t know why but for
some reason I find the thought of feeding on a human more palatable
than feeding on an animal.”

Cheve chimed in, “That’s because the fucking vampire
bit you and you liked it. Imagine them biting someone unwilling.
They’ve been known to do that over the centuries.”

Janel cut in, “Oh Christ, Cheve. You’re living in
the dark ages. These days vampire mostly drink from animals and if
they don’t it’s by mutual consent”

I wondered what Janel meant by that. “What do you
mean by mutual consent?”

“
The hotel has a service here for
vampires that they can request a human donor be brought to the
room. It’s not advertised, but you know how it is. If you have
enough money you can buy anything.”

I wondered if Alex had ever used that service. I
would ask him later. Our food came and as we were eating Alex
returned. He bent and kissed my cheek. I wondered if he just had
those lips on a cow or a woman. I would ask him that later too. For
now though we needed to get down to business

“
Okay, here’s my plan for the day.
We’ll go to the clinic so I can get a feel for Annika. That was the
last place she was. I’ll see where that leads. Hopefully we can
find her tonight.”

Cheve said, “That’s fine. But first, before we leave
this hotel, I want to know the truth.” He looked at Alex, “Come
clean and tell us why you’re trying to keep Wren from knowing the
whole truth.”

Chapter 24

All heads turned towards Alex. I held my breath.
Surely, I would have felt if Alex was keeping something from
me.

Looking everyone in the eye Alex
said, “This is a matter between Wren and me. You can be assured;
however, I would never do anything to hurt her. I would gladly lay
down my life for her.”

Alex now only looked at me and took my hands in his.
“Take my hand my love. Feel and know what I say is true. You are my
heart and I would die before allowing any harm to come to you.
There may be truths that need to be told but they are not my truths
to tell.”

Looking into his eyes and holding
his hands, I could feel the life force flowing through him. The
life force that was his and mine combined. I knew he spoke the
truth, and I also knew there were some things he held back. The
things held back were not of his doing, but I got a feeling he was
afraid for me to learn of it. I knew in an instant what it
pertained to. Out loud I said “Roberto.”

Alex dropped my hands quickly and averted his eyes.
“It’s not my place to talk of it.” He looked up with pain shadowing
his eyes. “I am always and forever yours, no matter what.”

I was scared by the intensity of the emotions
playing through me. I was in turmoil. From deep inside my heart I
heard Onatah saying “Khe:awak, open your heart to the light and all
will be well.” With those words I was able to calm the raging
fires. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the truth. I didn’t need
anymore chaos in my life. I reached up and cupped Alex’s face and
tried to erase the fear I saw there, “And I am yours.”

“
And I am going to throw up.”
Cheve said. “Let’s get going. I’m anxious to begin this so we will
be that much closer to going home.”

As we stood Alex said, “Mark bring the car around,
and then Cheve and I will escort Wren to the car. There will be no
repeat of this morning.”

“
This morning?” Janel
repeated.

“
It was nothing.” I
said.

At the same time Alex said, “Someone shot at
Wren.”

Janel didn’t look shocked. “Yeah well I told you,
you are the topic of a lot of conversations among The Evolved.”

I stopped walking. “You never told me that.”

Janel shrugged, “I thought I did. Well anyway,
people either think you’re an overblown braggart who is trying to
stir things up or you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread and
you’re gonna save the world.”

We continued walking and I wondered which statement
was truer. We waited by the door as Mark brought the car around. I
felt silly walking out to the car sandwiched between Cheve and Alex
with Bullet bringing up the rear.

Janel was assigned to the front
seat and Cheve, Alex and I were in the back. Bullet stuffed his
large body into the cargo area.
No smart
car for us
, I thought as we lumbered our
way into a huge Escalade.

Janel gave directions and in half an hour we were
pulling up in front of a plain grey brick building. There were no
signs on the building and Janel explained none were needed because
all of The Evolved knew where to go for medical treatment. We went
in the back door for which Janel had a key. She led us into an
office and turned on the light.

“
Do you have anything that Annika
may have touched?” I asked.

Janel thought about it. “The only thing she touched
was her receipt. She signed because she used a debit. I don’t think
she was using her real name though. I’m trying to remember what
name she used. It was Chris or Christine. No. I remember it was Ann
Crist.”

Janel went through the stack of receipts and found
Annika’s receipt. She handed it to me. I held it on the palm of my
hand. I let my senses free. I could smell the scent of the tree
that the paper had been made from. Above that I could smell a scent
that was similar to Alex’s but with a hint of hibiscus.

There was also something else. A faint trace of…
vermouth? I turned to Alex. “Is your sister fond of vermouth?”

Alex shook his head no and said, “Not that I’m aware
of. I don’t think I ever saw her drink it.”

Mark surprised everyone by saying, “Vermouth is made
with a spice called cascarilla which is the main export of Cat
Island, and it’s only grown on the southern tip of the island.”

At everyone’s surprised looks Mark said, “What?
Don’t you guys ever read a brochure?”

I laughed. “I guess we’re off to the southern tip of
the island.”

We piled back into the car and headed down the
coast. The natural beauty of the island took my breath away as did
the heady scents that assailed my sensitive nose. I was aware that
we were nearing the cascarilla crops before we saw them by the rich
odor wafting into the air vents.

“
Hey guys I think we may be
close,” I said.

Mark replied, “There’s a village of some sort up
ahead.”

It was a village in every sense of the word. There
were only a few houses, a general store and a gas station. We
parked and got out of the car. I sighed as the men once again
surrounded me. “Alex I think you need to step away from me. Your
and Annika’s scent are too similar.”

“
You’re probably right, though I
don’t like not being close to you.”

“
I’ll survive.”

“
I won’t.” Alex leered at
me.

Cheve said, “You two make me sick.”

Janel said, “I think they’re cute.”

Alex walked away, and I strolled in the opposite
direction with my motley crew trailing in close proximity. I tried
clearing my head of everything but was finding too many
distractions.

Cheve stood close to me his shoulder brushing mine.
“You can do this, Sensay. Remember who you are.”

He was right. I could do this. I just needed to
concentrate. I closed my eyes and reached out with all of my senses
including my unique intuition. With my eyes closed I could still
picture the village as it was, but I could also picture the village
in another dimension, one that was filled with scents and textures
and sounds on a much grander scale.

I was assaulted by pungent odors and sounds that
were so amplified that I thought my ears would bleed. I quickly
toned everything down as Cheve taught me to do. It was a matter now
of sorting through the smells, sights and sounds as they came at
me. I thought about the scent that Annika had left behind, and I
smiled as I picked up the thread right behind me. She had been at
the store recently.

I began to walk, following the thread that was
uniquely Annika. I walked across the street and over a low sand
dune. I followed the shoreline for awhile feeling the thread become
thicker and stronger. I don’t know how long I walked when I stopped
because I was no longer following the thread. That’s because it was
now similar to a rope that was pulling me, tugging me towards
it.

I opened my eyes and my knees buckled. Before I
could fall, Cheve was catching me in his arms. Before I could utter
a word Alex was lifting me out of Cheve’s arms and into his
own.

“
Baby what’s wrong?”

Cheve answered for me, “She was totally immersed in
her Sensay abilities. She blocked out everything and crossed over
to the spirit world. It’s very exhausting. It takes great strength
to walk in both worlds. She will be fine in a little while.”

Janel said, “Give her a little breathing room.”

I tried to speak to tell Alex that his sister was
very close, but I couldn’t speak yet. Alex sat down on a flat rock
with me still cradled in his arms. “Shhh,” he said while smoothing
my wind blown hair. He was looking at me in awe. “What you just did
Wren, is beyond amazing. I can’t believe how you walked here with
your eyes closed. You never once stepped on a rock or
hesitated.”

I smiled at him and whispered, “You just try and get
away from me handsome man.”

He chuckled. “Like I would ever try. Though, I am
disappointed with one thing.”

I raised my eyebrows in question.

“
Well, I’ve had some fantasies
where I blindfold you and do delicious things to your body. How’s
that gonna work now if you can just skip over to the spirit world
and watch me?”

I laughed until I began to lose my breath. Alex
kissed my forehead and I felt calm.

I recovered in a few minutes and even Cheve had to
remark, “I hate to say it but I think the fucking vampire helps you
recover faster.”

Janel sighed, “Yeah a little of that always makes me
feel better.”

Alex didn’t get angry at Cheve. He smiled and said
smugly, “Of course I do. She is my bonded. She completes me and I
her. Matter of fact we can complete each other all night long.”

I laughed out loud. “You’re so
bad. Now if the two of you are done baiting each other, your sister
is very close.”

We walked around a bend in the beach and came upon a
very nice beach house. It looked rather new and ultra modern with a
balcony on the second floor that faced the ocean. I thought that
Annika must get great views of the sunrise, and almost laughed out
loud when I realized that she’s a vampire and would be in her death
sleep at that time.

What a shame
, I thought a little nastily to myself. I sighed. Annika had
done nothing wrong other than be bonded and mated to the man I had
once loved. Plus she was Alex’s sister. Alex was such a good
person. I thought back, and in all the time I had known Alex, he
was never in a bad mood. Well except for the time he thought I was
sleeping with Cheve, and well, you can’t blame him for that. I
looked at the guys. “What are we doing standing here?”

Cheve said, “I’m trying to figure out how to best
approach the residence.”

Mark said, “Maybe one of us should flank the north
end and we could station one at the rear…”

I knocked on the front door.

The guys scrambled up the steps to form my guard,
and I gave them “the eyes”, but before I could say anything the
door opened up and there stood Annika, the most beautiful woman I’d
ever seen. I stuck out my hand to introduce myself when she pushed
me hard to the side and flung herself towards Alex. I was beginning
to doubt all of the wonderful things Alex had said about her.

They hugged hard and began to speak to each other in
rapid Swedish. I looked at Janel and shrugged, “Let’s go inside. I
think we’re going to be ignored for awhile. We might as well make
ourselves comfortable.”