Garden of Thorns

  She walks past me, her eyes trained on me the whole time. “Though I don’t know how you manage to spend twenty-four-seven with this one and not take a little sample. She smells like dessert.”

  I take half a step away from Aleah as she gives me a dark smile and heads up the stairs.

  “Don’t listen to my cousin,” Duncan says, tossing the empty blood bag into the garbage. “Getting under people’s skin is just a game to her.”

  “One I’m sure she’s pretty good at,” I say.

  “Most of the time,” he says. He crosses back into the living room and opens his backpack. He pulls out a laptop and goes back to the dining table. Instantly, he starts clicking away on it.

  “This place will work,” Aleah says, suddenly jumping over the railing and landing on the wood floors loudly, I’m sure just to make me jump. “The rules are that if I catch anyone being reckless you don’t get to dictate what the punishment is.”

  She holds the edges of her leather jacket, looking very deadly and dangerous in such a beautiful and historical setting.

  “So long as you’re discreet,” Lexington says. The look in his eyes says he knows he’s involved a weapon he can’t really control.

  “We’re going to have to start this out with a bang, you know that, right?” she says as a smile starts forming on her face. “We’re not going to get anyone’s attention without making an example.”

  “Do what you’ve got to do,” he says.

  The smile fully forms on her face. She turns on her heel and walks back toward the front door. “I’ll check in every now and then, but I expect not to feel like I’m being babysat.” She stops in the doorway, looking back at us. “Let me do the job you recruited me for.”

  With that, she walks out and slams the door behind her.

  “And that’s my cousin,” Duncan says with the raise of an eyebrow.

  I’m not sure what Aleah does to make her example, but within a week she gets some guy named Robert to move into the house and join her in putting the New England area back in order. I try to avoid her as much as possible, and thankfully I only have to see her once in that first week.

  Lexington gets texts from her frequently. Usually one or two word messages, but she’s effective in her job. She takes out three attackers in the first seven days.

  She’s effective considering she’s limited to the night-dark hours of the day.

  A week before Christmas, I stand in my lab, maybe sort of feeling like I’ve kind of gotten back to my normal life. Snow softly falls outside. Customers have been coming and going all day. I’ve completely sold out of the Adore Me love perfume. Half the men in this city seem to think it’s the perfect Christmas gift. And I’m not feeling guilty being here, like I should be out fighting crimes committed by vampires.

  Lexington isn’t even here. He’s out helping Duncan with something.

  All that’s missing is Kai, waiting to step in and ask if he can walk me home. But that doesn’t happen anymore. I haven’t heard from him in two weeks, and the only word I did get was a text asking if everything was going okay.

  It breaks my heart to lose a friend like that when all I tried to do was tell him the truth. But it’s better this way. I had to do what was best for the both of us.

  Rose petals, hawthorn berries, chamomile, and lavender are spread out over the counters as I mix up a tea blend for a woman who came in begging for a solution to her teething baby who had been crying for three days straight.

  I scoop out a tablespoon of honey and add it to the saucepan on the burner. I stir the mixture, bringing it to a simmer.

  The computer dings from the corner, and after turning the heat off, I check it.

  Another email from Rose. This time asking for a new recipe, one that calls for ingredients like wolfsbane, vervain, and willow bark.

  I press my lips together, staring at her name at the top of the email.

  I don’t want to keep working with Rose. Her requests scare me, her very presence makes me want to crawl right out of my own skin. And I can’t find logical, sound explanations for the things she asks me to make.

  Nothing about Rose is normal. But I’m certain she isn’t a vampire.

  That’s as far as my realm of knowledge extends.

  I don’t have a desire for it to reach any further.

  The bell above the door in the shop rings and I flinch slightly, startled. I step to the side to go help the customer, and bump straight into Lexington. Instantly, I’m reaching for the stake in my back pocket.

  “Whoa, there,” he says, his hand snapping to stop me from pulling it free. “Just me.”

  “Sorry,” I say, forcing my pulse to relax. I turn back to the baby’s drink, and pour it into a glass bottle. “I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”

  “Considering I’m not supposed to be gone at all, I thought I better not take too long.”

  “Not like anything has happened,” I say, feeling irritated and impatient. “It’s been a month and a half, and there’s not been a word from Charles Allaway. I’m beginning to think Ian was just overreacting, as usual.”

  “Or maybe that just means I’m doing my job well?” Lexington says, a hint of offense in his voice. “I would think you of all people would know that even if you don’t see it right in front of your face, that doesn’t mean the threat isn’t there in the shadows.”

  “Don’t bring my mother into this,” I hiss, wielding the spatula in his direction.

  “Sorry,” he says, throwing his hands up in surrender, taking a step back. The look on his face is confused, hurt.

  I’m freaking out on him, and he doesn’t deserve it.

  And I’m not entirely sure why I’m feeling this way.

  A blinking red light starts flashing from one wall. The one that only goes off every so often lately.

  “Looks like you’ve got a visitor,” Lexington says, nodding his head toward it.

  I cork the bottle and head into the shop. Gray clouds darken the late afternoon. With only ten minutes until closing time, I lock the front door and turn the sign over to CLOSED.

  “Come on,” I say, not quite meeting Lexington’s eyes.

  We step through the hidden door and he leads the way down the stairs and through the hall. He pushes the door open and we both step in.

  Kai stands inside, holding back a very large man who immediately snaps in my direction the second I step inside.

  “Kai,” I say in shock. “What…what are you doing here?”

  He fixes me with his dark eyes, so much conflict there. “I was walking home last night when I heard the yell. It was another Bitten who attacked this guy. I couldn’t get him under control.”

  I know what that means. Kai had to eliminate him.

  “I didn’t dare take him to the hospital,” Kai says. The man suddenly lunges toward me and Lexington darts forward. The man is instantly on the ground, Lexington’s knee in his back, his hand forcing his face down into the stone floor. “He turned about an hour ago.”

  “Okay,” I nod, still in shock that Kai is here again. Almost like the last two months haven’t passed.

  I cross to the opposite wall, swinging aside the painting to reveal the keypad. I enter the code, and the hidden panel pops open. I pull on some gloves and remove a needle. “This is going to hurt for about a minute,” I begin explaining. I turn, crouching beside the man while Lexington easily keeps him from killing me. “I know you’re starving right now and all you can think about is draining me. But this will put you back to normal.”

  I sink the needle into his meaty shoulder, and the moment I remove it, the man bellows in pain. His body curls into the fetal position, his hands shaking violently. Lexington backs off of him, but doesn’t stand, just in case he needs to contain the man.

  He won’t. The poor man is in too much pain for that.

  I turn away from him, unable to watch an individual in so much pain. I put the needle into the sharps container and throw my gloves in the garbage. I lock th
e fridge back up. I face the wall for a moment, rubbing one hand over my forearm.

  “He’s good,” Lexington says. I look over my shoulder to see the man finally fall still. Kai grabs his wrists and hauls him over to the cot.

  “How have you been?” I ask, even though I can’t fully meet Kai’s eyes.

  “I’ve had a lot of thinking to do,” he says. “But it’s been good.”

  “Really?” I ask, my eyes rising up to his.

  Lexington awkwardly backs up into a corner, trying to give us a little bit of privacy in this very small room.

  Kai looks sideways at him, but he knows he’s not going anywhere. He’s just going to have to make do.

  “I didn’t like what you had to say, but I guess some time to process it just let me realize you did and said what you thought was best.”

  “I didn’t do it to hurt you,” I say, shaking my head.

  The look in his eyes says that I did hurt him, but he realizes now that wasn’t my intent. “You may not feel the same way I did, and that hurt, but it’s better I knew earlier.”

  “The way you did?” I ask for clarification.

  He shrugs. “Like I said, I had a lot of time to think. You were right, I let you occupy every minute. As tina pointed out, that’s just obsession. So, I uh…went on a few dates.”

  This pulls a little smile on my lips. “I’m happy to hear that. You need to do things for you.”

  He nods his head. “It made me realize that we might not evolve into what I hoped, but you’re still one of my best friends, Elle. You’re still family.”

  The smile finally forms on my lips. I cross the space and wrap my arms around his waist, laying my head on his broad chest. “So, friends?”

  “Friends,” he says, laying his cheek on top of my head.

  I open my eyes, looking directly at Lexington.

  Well, this is incredibly awkward.

  “But I thought about what you said,” Kai says, letting me go. “About taking the cure.”

  “And?” I ask him hopefully as I step away.

  “I will take it, someday, hopefully soon.” Kai looks over at Lexington, and slowly, I see something changing in his expression. The melting away of the view of an enemy. “But I know something has been going on. The city, it’s not as safe as it used to be. I want to help.”

  I feel my entire body light up. “Kai, that sounds amazing.”

  “Aleah might take a bit to warm up to the idea of a Bitten helping her,” Lexington says. “But we need all the help we can get.”

  “She’ll have to accept it,” I say, nodding my head. The confusion on Kai’s face leads me to realize he has no idea what we’re talking about.

  A quick explanation of our plan, that we’re essentially starting a new House to get everything back under control, and that Aleah and Duncan are in charge, brings him back up to speed.

  “The ultimate plan is to turn whoever is willing over to Charles,” I say. “They need to rebuild their House.”

  “Obviously you won’t be joining the House when that time comes,” Lexington says. I nod. Kai is a Bitten, and unless the Bitten have a Debt to one of the Born, they have no connections to the Houses. And that’s illegal now. “But as you said, the plan is to eventually take the cure.”

  Kai nods his head, and I can see the wheels spinning in his head. “This could work,” he says, a small smile on his lips. “I’ll do it. I’ll help this woman keep things under control.”

  I look over at Lexington, a full on smile spreading on my face. He returns it, and steps forward, his hand extended to Kai.

  “Then welcome to the House of Martials.”

  “House of Martials, huh?” I ask as Lexington drives us back from Cambridge.

  “Sounds cool, doesn’t it?” he says with a smile as we cross the bridge and make our way back into Boston. We just finished dropping Kai off, who took a bag of his things so he can stay for a few days and get acquainted with the operation Aleah has set up with Duncan and Robert.

  Lexington was right, she wasn’t thrilled about the idea of a Bitten joining her in the cause. There were a lot of nasty looks and curse words involved. But even she realizes how big of a region she has to work with, and just how difficult it is going to be to accomplish everything with just a few bodies.

  “It makes sense I guess,” I say as I look out the window at the dark night. “We are going above Charles’ head and taking matters into our own hands.”

  “Feels kind of cool to be a revolutionary,” Lexington says with a smile.

  “It would feel cooler if innocent people weren’t being caught in the crossfire,” I counter. “But I guess. It’s kind of weird not being on the sidelines.”

  Lexington makes a right turn and heads into my neighborhood. He rolls down the road and parks in front of the house.

  “It’s really nice to see you smile again,” he says as we climb out and trudge through the snow. I unlock the front door and we step in, making our way up to my apartment. I open the door and we both take our boots and coats off. “You got kind of down for a little bit there.”

  I shrug, heading into the kitchen. I fill the kettle with water and set it on the stove. “I guess I didn’t realize how hard it was, knowing the only friend I’ve had here in town was angry with me.”

  “Feelings sure do complicate things, don’t they?” Lexington opens the fridge and pulls out a blood bag. Settling at the island, he pops it open and takes a long pull.

  “I guess,” I say, pulling out the can of powdered cocoa. I grab a mug from another cupboard. “I just…” I look down into it, unsure of how to say what’s on my mind without embarrassing myself. “I’ve never had a serious relationship before. I barely know what it’s like to have friends. So when things got complicated, I just didn’t really know how to feel.”

  “I don’t know that anyone does,” Lexington says, leaning his forearms on the counter. “Heck, I’m over one hundred and sixty years old, and feelings still get me all twisted up.”

  Steam whistles through the kettle and I pour the water into the mug and mix in the cocoa. Pouring in a little cinnamon and milk, I go to sit beside Lexington at the counter. “You’ve lived a long time. I’m sure you’ve had some pretty significant relationships in your life.”

  Lexington shrugs. “Not as many as you might think. Being limited to only going outside in the dark can put a damper on your dating life. But I’ve had a few girlfriends over the many, many years,” he says, looking down at the countertop. “Even asked a girl to marry me once, back in the thirties.”

  “What happened?” I ask, watching his face. He’s always so casual and easy. But there’s a hint of pain and struggle creeping onto it.

  “She had a hard time really understanding what I was,” he says. “I don’t know that she really ever grasped just how long I’d lived. How strong the cravings could get.” He twirls the half-drunk blood bag between his hands, staring at the red liquid inside of it. “I didn’t have my thirst very under control back then. I mean, I was pretty good most of the time. I always tried to push myself, see how long I could go between feedings.”

  He rubs a hand down his face, looking tired suddenly.

  “And occasionally I’d snap.” He sinks his fangs into the bag, draining the rest of the blood from it. A small drop leaks out onto his lips. “She witnessed it once, about a week before I proposed. The man was fine, didn’t even remember what happened afterwards because he was drunk at the time. Anita said she forgave me, that she could get over it.”

  “But she really couldn’t,” I fill in. The weight in his expression tells me I’m right.

  He nods. “When I asked her to marry me, her eyes just filled with tears. She shook her head and just said ‘I can’t’. She said goodbye to me there on the docks in Maine.”

  I rest my hand on his back, rubbing in a small circle. “I’m so sorry,” I say quietly. “That must have been so hard.”

  He shrugs. “Good thing I had eternity to get o
ver it, right?” he forces a chuckle. But I really do feel his mood lift. His moods are like a physical thing, touching everyone around him, saturating into everyone else. “It proved good motivation to change my ways. I’ve been on a regular feeding schedule now for over ninety years, and no snapping incidents since.”

  I smile at that. “I will say, I’ve never once felt unsafe with you around.”

  A smile splits his face, full and bright. “Well, I’m glad to hear that. But Aleah wasn’t lying. You do smell like dessert. All the time.”

  I feel my face flush and my eyes drop away from his as I can’t fight the small smile. “Sorry to put you through so much torture.”

  Lexington doesn’t say anything for a long moment and I finally look back at him. He studies me, taking in every one of my features. Long. Slow. “Not a moment here has been torture, I can assure you of that.”

  I look back and forth between his blue eyes, feeling the weight sinking into this moment. There’s something growing in my chest, something soft but heavy. The breath stills in my chest.

  Finally, Lexington cracks a smile on one side of his mouth.

  “It’s late,” he says. He leans back, breaking the moment. I sit back, somewhat startled to be back in reality. “We’ve got to open the shop in the morning. You should get some sleep.”

  “Yeah,” I say, blinking fast, clearing the fog from my head. I stand and set my mug in the sink. But I can feel Lexington’s eyes on me. I glance over my shoulder, and our eyes lock.

  Something flutters in my stomach.

  I cross to the front door, locking it. He follows me up the stairs.

  “Goodnight,” I say, looking back before I walk into my room.

  “Sleep well,” he says with this look on his face that I can’t fully explain.

  I close the door, leaning against it for just a moment to try to calm my racing heart.

  It’s bad, embarrassing, because I know without a doubt that he can hear it.

  I push away from the door and go to my closet to change into pajamas. When I walk back into my bedroom, my phone dings from the nightstand. A text from a blocked number waits for me there.