Secret Worlds (436 page)

I nodded, my hands trembling, unsure if I could even form words.

Charlie dropped his hand back to the side. “I’ve worried you. I’m sorry, but right now we need to focus on Alarica. You were telling me how she came to be. Please, go on.”

I took a deep, shaky breath, and wrung my hands together. It was time to move on, and that meant getting everything out on the table. “My parents put a strong spell, more like a curse, on some old silver necklace with a glass orb gripped between what looked like spider legs.”

I wondered briefly if I should’ve begun at the true beginning, the part where Boaz injected me with some kind of immortal serum, but the time didn’t feel right.

Charlie balled his fists again, and I noticed something flash in his eyes, but when he didn’t say anything, I continued, “The orb was filled with blood. Whatever they did to it changed me. The moment that thing was around me all I could feel was hate. I smelled it, breathed it, I could even taste it. I was filled with such rage that I couldn’t help but destroy everything in my path. Physically, my body couldn’t contain the power.” My voice cracked.

“It wasn’t you, though, not really,” Charlie said. “True darkness has a way of transforming people into what it wants for itself. Your ability to choose was taken from you the moment that necklace went around your neck.”

“But part of it was me. They were my feelings, my pain that Alarica used. If it wasn’t for the vampire who’d stopped me, I would’ve hurt so many more people.”

Charlie leaned forward. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through all these years, but you have a chance now at a new beginning, a new life.”

“I don’t see how’s that possible. My parents will see that my grave has been destroyed, and know that I’m free.”

“We’ll take care of the grave, and as for your parents, they don’t matter anymore.”

“You’re wrong about that. Erik will never give up. He will hunt me down until I’m dead.”

Charlie pursed his lips together. “Right. Your father. There’s something I should tell you.” He clicked his tongue again.

“What is it?”

“Your father, well, he’s dead.”

“Dead?”

“By his own hand, I think,” Charlie mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “It was strange. We captured your parents about a week ago and were questioning them when all of a sudden your father keeled over. His heart just stopped. Personally, I think he stopped it himself.”

Erik was dead? A feeling sort of like being punched in the gut sucked the air from my lungs, and my head began to spin. I looked up to the circling trees above. Charlie said something else, but I didn’t hear him over the ringing in my ears.

“Eve?”

“I need to get out of here,” I said before I lost the ability to speak all together.

Charlie scrambled to his feet. “Hold on. I’ll help.”

He wrapped my arm around his shoulders and easily lifted me to a standing position. I leaned into him, trying hard to keep my feet beneath me, as he walked me through the dark forest.

I didn’t know where he was taking me, nor did I care. Erik was dead. The man who had tortured me mercilessly, the man who was also my father. I should feel glad, but the feeling wasn’t coming. In its place came a barrage of emotions too much for me to process.

When I stumbled over a log, Charlie’s hand gripped my waist. “Just a little bit further,” he said. “My car is just over that ridge.”

It wasn’t long before the forest gave way to a grass field with blades that came to my knees. The full moon provided plenty of light, but I tripped again. This time, Charlie didn’t steady me. He scooped me up and carried me in his arms. Too exhausted to protest, my head fell against his chest, and my eyes closed. I didn’t think about anything except for the steady movement of Charlie’s footsteps, the swooshing of his steps through the tall grass, and the sound of his steady heartbeat. Before I knew it, I fell asleep.

I woke when Charlie set me down and opened a car door. The black metal of the vehicle—a sports car of some kind—was shiny and had sharp lines that curved up toward the front of the car and then smoothly curved back down into a V on the hood, meeting the lines on other side of the car. A six-inch, silver metal statue of an angel with wings perched on the front hood.

“Nice car,” I mumbled, my eyes still half-closed. Charlie helped me into the leathered passenger seat, then rounded the car to hop in behind the steering wheel.

With a press of a button, he brought the engine to life. “Go back to sleep. We have about an hour’s drive.”

Charlie drove along a deserted road, passing several small towns and rural farmhouses until eventually there was nothing but trees. The area was not familiar, but the taller mountains in the distance told me we were going toward Canada.

He turned the car onto a bumpy dirt road that wound itself through an overgrown forest. It had probably been years since someone else had driven on this same path. I leaned my head against the window and, as I’d done my entire life, I didn’t allow myself to feel anything. Hearing of Erik’s death had brought many emotions to the surface, and they had almost overwhelmed me, but now, under the soft moonlight, I thought of nothing.

Charlie glanced sideways at me. “I’m sorry about your father.”

“Don’t be. It was a good thing.”

“I had no idea he’d do something like that. Maybe I would’ve handled things differently.”

“What of my mother? Where is she?”

“We have her. She won’t be leaving anytime soon.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “So I really am free?”

Charlie took his eyes off the road to address me. “No. There are others who may not believe you are a dead, especially Boaz.”

“Boaz won’t be looking for me.”

“How can you be sure?”

“He’s dead. At least I think he is, but if he was able to come back from the grave once…”

“How?”

“I blew up his house with him in it.”

“Did you actually see him die?” he asked.

I repressed a shiver. “No.”

“Then we can’t assume he’s dead. I’ll get a team together to search for him. But in the meantime, you need to stay hidden for a very long time.”

“Why?”

“It wasn’t just Boaz who would do you harm. Both sides of your family would love to get their hands on you.”

I silently agreed, remembering the encounter with my Grandfather months ago. “So is that where we are going now? To hide me?”

“Yes.”

After a moment of silence, I turned abruptly to Charlie. “What did Sable do when she saw Erik die?”

“She laughed. He died right next to her, and she laughed.”

He pressed on the brake, slowing the car when the dirt road became more difficult to navigate. There were times when I thought the car wouldn’t fit between two trees but somehow it managed to squeeze through. Finally, the forest opened to a wide clearing and in the middle was a small log cabin.

“Here we are,” Charlie said, taking the keys out of the ignition. “It’s not much but we did make some improvements.” He opened his door and headed toward the cottage.

I stepped out of the car. “What is this place?”

“This is your new home,” he answered without turning around.

“My new home?”

Charlie opened the door of the cottage and then looked back at me. “Where else would you go?”

“I was going to Chicago,” I said, but suddenly realized how bad of an idea that was now. I couldn’t use Liane’s money or support, not after what she did to me.

“It’s much safer if you stay here, at least for a while.”

I nodded and followed Charlie inside the darkened home. Lights flipped on, pushing the darkness to the corners of the room.

The cabin was surprisingly modern with gray walls and black and white furniture. Teal-colored pillows and a matching ocean painting hanging on the wall balanced out the room. In a way, the painting reminded me of Eden, and I wondered if Charlie somehow knew about my private sanctuary.

From the hallway, Charlie called, “You’ll have everything you need here. A woman named Nora will drop off groceries and whatever else you want every Saturday. Just make a list.” He returned to the living room. “The rest of the home is in order. Bedroom and bath are at the end of the hall. There’s even a small library.”

“Why are you doing all this?” I asked.

Charlie opened a refrigerator in the kitchen and removed cheese and turkey. “Sandwich?”

I lowered myself into a chair at the counter. “Please.”

“So why am I helping you, you ask?” he said as he removed a knife from a drawer. He proceeded to cut the turkey into thin slices before saying, “I sense a lot of anger and fear in you. It’s created a darkness that’s nearly overtaken your mind and heart, but there’s this light…” He closed his eyes and tilted his head as if tuning in to a distant sound. “It’s fighting against the darkness.” He opened his eyes. “It’s bright, but it needs time to grow.”

I didn’t realize my mouth was open until I closed it.

He continued. “I want to give you the safety and the time you need to become the person you were meant to be. That’s why I want to help you. The Deific, however, they see you as viable force for good and want you on our side.”

“I don’t want to be on anyone’s side,” I said.

Charlie placed the turkey and a slice of cheese in between two slices of bread and handed it to me. “And that’s all right. For now. But the time will come for you to choose sides. Battles come in many different forms, and we all must face one, if not many, at some point in our lives. And when that fight comes, we must choose a side.”

I took a bite and thought about it, slowly chewing. After I swallowed, I opened my mouth to speak, but he interrupted me.

“Don’t make a decision now. It’s going to take time for you to heal and to discover who you are. Nothing else matters.” He slid a glass of milk toward me. “You have a lot to think about and years to do it in.”

“Years?”

“You’ll be surprised how long it takes to overcome what you’ve been through. It won’t be easy, but I think this place will help you heal. It’s helped others.”

While Charlie put away the food and wiped off the counter, I glanced around the small cabin, focusing lastly on the ocean painting. “How did you know to prepare all of this? I thought you came to kill me—I mean, Alarica.”

“The Deific doesn’t always trust my gift. I told them I’d find someone other than Alarica, but they still had me prepared to kill her just in case.”

“I mean no disrespect, but how exactly were you planning on killing Alarica? She was pretty much invincible.”

He smiled. “I didn’t come alone.” Charlie straightened. “You’ll find more food in there, and there’s clothing in the bedroom. After I leave, I suggest a hot bath and perhaps some fresh clothes.”

I glanced down at my jeans and t-shirt. They were covered in so much dirt that I couldn’t tell what color they were anymore.

“There’s a phone in the library,” he said and rounded the kitchen counter toward the front door. “Please only use it to call Nora or myself. Our numbers are in the desk.”

“You’re leaving?” I asked. My hands began to shake, and I quickly moved them behind my back. The thought of being alone right now suddenly terrified me.

Charlie’s shoulders sagged. He turned and stared directly in my eyes. “Eve, you have suffered through horrible things no child should ever go through, but that time is over—no one will hurt you ever again. You were a victim once but no longer. Never think of yourself as a victim. If you do, then you are still empowering those who have harmed you. Go forward and choose to live your life, because if you’re always looking in the past, then you’ll never have a future.”

“Will I see you again?” I asked.

“I hope so, but something tells me it won’t be for a very long time. Do take care of yourself, and when you’re ready, call me.”

Without another word, he left, closing the door behind him.

The first several days at the cabin, I thought of nothing, afraid the smallest memory might overwhelm me. I repeated the most mundane tasks, keeping life as simple as possible: wake up, shower, eat, go for a walk, read, eat, read some more, walk some more, eat again. Every day I told myself that after a good night’s sleep and a decent breakfast, I would leave in the morning. But the next day came and went. Soon the days turned into weeks and weeks into months until time stopped entirely. I didn’t think of my parents, or Boaz and Charlie, or even the vampire with the sorrow-filled eyes. I had become like the large oak tree that grew next to the cabin: predictable, steady, and unaware to life beyond its branches.

Nora was my only visitor. She was an older, large woman with long brown hair that was always pulled back into a thick braid. Freckles sprinkled her ruddy complexion like cinnamon, and her bottom lip continually stuck out from a wad of tobacco. She wasn’t the most eloquent speaker and often cursed for no reason. I had never been around anyone like her before, but I grew fond of her straightforwardness and her plaid shirts and tight jeans.

On the days Nora visited, she brought me all the food I could ever eat plus letters from Charlie. I never read them, though. Instead I placed them in a drawer for another day. And every few months, Nora would come with new clothing, but I often refused as I didn’t want to accept anything I couldn’t pay for. I already felt guilty for using the cabin and food. Somehow I’d pay them back. One day.

When Nora would come, very few words would pass between us. Our dialogue consisted of the weather, what food she’d bring, and other impersonal things. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to get to know her, but it was just easier for me to exist as a shadow, unknowing to the present and future, but most importantly to the past. Occasionally, I would catch Nora staring at me, but gratefully, she never asked any questions.

After what I assumed was a short time, but in actuality was many months, I found a crossbow and a several arrows in the small attic of the cabin. This gave me something new to do, so I spent a lot of my time in the forest, practicing at different targets until I became quite good. I could throw an apple into the air and shoot an arrow straight through its heart.