Sinjin nodded and sighed in what appeared to be slight disinterest as he finished pulling the dusty, navy blue drapes closed over the only window in the room. With its aluminum frame, it looked circa 1970. He peeked out the window, which offered a panoramic view of the parking lot, as if to ascertain just how bright the day was becoming outside. The nascent glow of early morning was definitely in full effect, exposing itself in a light blue that bleached the shadows of the previous night. “Perhaps thirty minutes remain before the sun will reveal itself fully,” he responded as he turned to face me, studying me intently.
“What?” I didn’t feel very comfortable beneath his stringent gaze and was even less comfortable when he didn’t respond right away. Instead, he stood there in his black pants and long-sleeved black shirt with the top buttons undone. I could make out the indentation between his clavicles. A flashing image of Sinjin naked from the waist up immediately popped into my head as a distant memory, and I had to beat it back into oblivion. There was a time when Sinjin and I definitely harbored … sexual feelings for one another, but that was long ago.
Bryn, it wasn’t that long ago, I told myself. It was barely three weeks ago.
Three weeks? I didn’t know how it was possible, but those three little, unassuming weeks felt more like three centuries. So much had happened in the span of twenty-one days that it almost didn’t seem fair to label the memories in terms of days, hours, minutes and seconds. Not when everything was so drastically different now. Not when I was so drastically different.
Feeling ill at ease with the stark nudity of my thoughts, I returned my attention to Sinjin. I couldn’t help but notice how his black hair was clean and trimmed short around his ears and face, while the top was a bit longer than the sides. He was every bit as stunningly handsome as I remembered him—just as ideally perfect as the image of him that came to mind almost every day I spent in prison.
“Explain why you are not comfortable returning to Kinloch Kirk,” he demanded, and his deep voice sent chills up and down my spine. He crossed his arms over his chest and had an expression like someone who was mentally prepared for a response he wouldn’t like.
I cleared my throat and rubbed the back of my neck, not at all comfortable with the way Sinjin made me feel. I couldn’t say that the feelings he drummed up inside me were of a purely sexual nature, because I couldn’t imagine ever feeling desire for another man again; but whatever they were, they were real, all the same. “I thought I already explained the reasons why I couldn’t go back to my sister’s when we were in the car.”
“The Porsche,” Sinjin corrected me with a boyish smile. He tapped his long index finger against his chin and continued to stare at me as if he were reading the book of my thoughts right off my face.
“My mistake,” I grumbled, with no sincerity. If anything, I was irritated that he was correcting me and, worse, was so damned attractive while doing it. And that realization gave me cause for pause.
Why are you surprised that you’re still attracted to him? I questioned myself. You’ve always been insanely attracted to Sinjin! You think three weeks away from him could really change that?
But I knew my surprise had nothing to do with the length of separation between us. No, it had everything to do with what had happened to me over the last three weeks. Now I felt like I had nothing in common with the woman I’d once been. And given that stark reality, I didn’t think I could ever find any man attractive again.
“Yes, you came up with a rather clumsy response to my question while we were en route to this motel,” Sinjin started. He sounded all businesslike again as he returned to the subject at hand. “But as you can probably assume, I did not and do not find your reasoning wholly intact.” He didn’t say anything more for the span of a few seconds, but continued to stare at me with those ice-blue eyes, which made me feel like a naughty child being scolded for acting out of turn. “I daresay your pride is still wounded; are you so disappointed that I did not find you sooner?”
I swallowed hard as soon as I heard his words because the thought of him finding me quickly led to thoughts of where I’d been when he found me. But as to Sinjin’s question, no, I couldn’t say I was still angry. His explanation regarding my weakened blood trail made sense. “No, I understand why it took you as long as it did.”
“I am pleased to hear that,” he answered with a slight yet somewhat furtive, nod. “Furthermore, I will have you know that your sister was a wreck where you were concerned. Not a night went by that she did not contact me and inquire as to whether or not I had located you.” I didn’t say anything, but inhaled deeply as the thought of my sister made me feel hollow inside, somehow … even sad. “When I informed her that I had finally picked up your scent, she was overjoyed,” he continued, coming closer to me until I suddenly felt the irresistible urge to take a few steps back. There was something about Sinjin that intimidated me. “Your sister loves you.” He said the words with finality, and his piercing eyes bored into mine. His expression was pensive, earnest and so intense, I felt like he could see right through me. I cleared my throat, but was overcome by the inability to form words. All I could do was stare into his eyes. I could only wonder if he were bewitching me or if this was just how it was between the two of us. “And you love her,” he finished.
“I,” I started but then lost the flow of my thought.
“She rang me earlier, after you collapsed when I came across you and Betta in the forest,” he continued, glancing down at his long fingers and inspecting his nails with practiced ennui. Moments later, he looked over at me again and studied me with his poker face. “You do realize I must make contact with her shortly to inform her that I have taken you and Betta into my custody?” I nodded and he continued. “Furthermore, she will want to know what your plan is; and, of course, whether I should return you to Kinloch Kirk.”
I just nodded, acknowledging that he was right in his thinking. But I didn’t say anything.
“Shall I inform her then, that the three of us are returning to Kinloch Kirk?” Sinjin inquired before a frown marred his handsome face. He turned his attention to the door that led to Betta’s room. “I am, of course, assuming that your traveling companion will not remain true to her Lurker heritage, based on how she assisted you in your escape.”
“Betta isn’t a Lurker,” I responded absentmindedly, because I was still trying to figure out what I planned to do about my impending future and whether or not I wanted to return to my sister.
“Very good,” Sinjin replied with a brief nod as he faced me again. His lips were still just as tight as before. “Then, the only subject we have left to discuss now is you.” I nodded, but still couldn’t respond because I didn’t have an answer for him. I didn’t know where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do.
“I don’t want to discuss me,” I announced.
“I am afraid that the subject is unavoidable,” Sinjin responded, his tone of voice deliberate. “Your sister will want an update from me shortly.” He paused for a few seconds and studied me behind stern eyes. “I do not want to disappoint her.”
Even though his expression said he was waiting for me to respond, I couldn’t find words.
“I hope you changed your mind about my returning you to Kinloch Kirk and your family?” he pressed.
But the idea of returning to my “family” turned me ice-cold.
You can’t go back to Kinloch Kirk or to Jolie, the voice inside my head piped up. Do you really think you’ll be able to pick up where you left off and carry on like everything is okay? Do you think you’ll be able to pretend like everything is rainbows and sunshine? Are you going to be able to pretend like you’re the same person you were the last time you saw your sister?
No.
My stomach dropped as I faced the bare facts. There was no way I could return to the life that I formerly had.
“Your sister is awaiting word,” Sinjin said in a deep yet soft voice, almost as if he realized he was interrupting my internal deba
te. I was fully aware that as soon as Sinjin called her, she’d want to talk to me. And it wouldn’t be an easy conversation by any stretch of the imagination. On the contrary, Jolie would want to know what happened to me over the last three weeks, and if I was okay. And I wasn’t sure how to answer her, because I wasn’t okay.
“I don’t want to talk to her,” I announced.
Sinjin didn’t seem pleased with the news. “She will most assuredly want to speak to you.” He paused for a few seconds. “She would have already reached out to you in thought but I warned her that Luce could very well intercept any telepathic conversations you both have.”
“And he wouldn’t be able to intercept any cell phone conversations we have?” I asked with a brazen laugh.
“Not when the Prophetess protected my mobile against would-be eavesdroppers,” Sinjin retorted.
“Well, either way, I don’t want to talk to my sister and I don’t want to go back to Kinloch Kirk,” I spouted with a devil-may-care attitude. “End of story.”
What was more, I never wanted to discuss what happened to me with anyone … ever. Instead, I planned to permanently bury that information in the vault of my thoughts where it could never resurface again. Even though I obviously had no control over what happened to my body, I could control my thoughts. I still reserved the right to never revisit the subject again. And that was the choice I intended to make.
“Explain to me why not.” His voice was curt and unsympathetic.
I shook my head immediately, not at all ready to open up to Sinjin and allow him to glimpse the horror I’d endured for the last three weeks. No one needed to know that information. No one except Betta and me. And, really, even that was one person too many. “That’s my business,” I answered with tightened lips as I glanced back up at him. I was beginning to realize that from here on out, it had to be just Betta and me. Why? Because Betta had no one just as I had no one. She was becoming my new family merely by default, merely because she’d witnessed the horror I’d lived through, and that made her the only one who knew my secret. She was the only person I didn’t have to hide from, and the only person who truly understood me. I felt like I was eons away from the person I used to be.
“What happened with Luce?” Sinjin asked, eyeing me pointedly. “What happened to you after you were taken prisoner?”
I gulped, and my heart began to race as bullets of sweat beaded along my forehead and the small of my back. However, I forced myself to hold his gaze because I didn’t want to acknowledge the terror that was snaking through me. “That’s my business,” I replied dryly.
“Of course you were punished for your disloyalty?” Sinjin persisted, his narrowed gaze suggesting he wasn’t going to back down. But there was no way he could win this battle. There was no way I would willingly part with the information.
“Of course,” I answered with tight lips, allowing him one small victory.
He continued to study me while I kept my mouth shut. “Why did you collapse in the forest?” he interrupted the otherwise pervasive silence between us, his azure gaze deliberate.
“I was tired and hungry,” I lied.
Sinjin nodded as if he accepted my fib and approached the phone that sat on a side table next to the queen-sized bed. Aside from the bed and table, there was no other furniture in the room. As Sinjin picked up the corded phone handle, I glanced around, suddenly feeling as if the walls in the small room were closing in on me. My heart rate increased and my hands grew clammy because I knew Sinjin well enough to expect his quest to know what happened to me wasn’t exhausted.
“Yes, hello, I just checked in to room eleven and my wife is famished. Do you have a restaurant in this establishment?” Sinjin asked.
“No, we don’t,” I heard the little, old woman answer on the other line. “But there is a vending machine with chips and other refreshments in the lobby.”
“No, that simply will not do,” Sinjin responded, in a calm and friendly, but resolute, voice. “Perhaps you would be kind enough to prepare my two lady companions something else to eat.” Then he glanced at me again, his head moving up and down as he raked me from head to toe. “And some clothing please. Jeans, a blouse, and a sweater in a women’s size small.”
My eyebrows knotted together as I faced Sinjin and thought he was out of his mind if he expected the old woman to do his bidding. Especially when I wasn’t even sure if there was a kitchen in the whole motel, and who knew where the nearest clothing store was.
“Sure, I’d be happy to,” the old woman practically sang in response. “Just give me a few minutes, honey, an’ then I’ll bring everythin’ you requested up to your room.”
“Very well,” Sinjin responded, never bothering to look over at me. “I will compensate you well for your trouble.”
The old woman didn’t reply as Sinjin hung up the phone. He turned to face me with a self-impressed smile. “Your breakfast is taken care of, Princess,” he announced. “Forgive me for temporarily forgetting that you humans require nutritional sustenance. As a creature of habit and given my species, I am afraid that fact sometimes escapes me.”
“Not a big deal,” I answered with a shake of my head while returning my attention to the phone. I had to admit I was mostly pleased by the prospect of a new change of clothes. “So, let me guess, did you just use your vampiric powers of persuasion?”
Sinjin chuckled. “I admit I did.”
“I wasn’t aware that such abilities worked over the phone. I figured you had to be directly in front of someone,” I continued, hoping he’d grab the bait of a new subject.
“As a master vampire, I possess rare abilities, which the average vampire does not,” Sinjin responded succinctly, continuing to eye me curiously.
“Nicely done,” I answered and then inhaled deeply as my eyes fell to the bed and I was suddenly overcome with the irresistible need to sleep. Even though I’d slept for a while in the car, er, the Porsche, I was still very tired. But being tired wasn’t going to help me avoid a conversation with Sinjin that I didn’t want to have. Only changing the subject would do that… “Where do you suppose that old lady from downstairs is going to find clothes that fit me?” I asked, sounding hopeful.
“While I admire your attempt to derail my attention, Bête Noire,” Sinjin said with a small smile as my stomach fell, “I am afraid your anemic effort was nothing valiant.”
“I’m tired, Sinjin, and I don’t want to talk anymore,” I interrupted with a long sigh. “I’ve been through a lot and I need to sleep.”
“I understand perfectly,” he said with more conviction.
I took a few steps toward the door that led into Betta’s room. Before I could reach the doorknob, however, a gust of wind blew against my face and made me blink a few times. Seconds later, Sinjin appeared directly in front of me. I felt my own swift intake of breath as my heart felt like it stopped for a few seconds. “Do you really have to do that?!” I yelled angrily, bringing my hand to my chest and trying to calm down. “It’s freaking rude!”
“I sincerely apologize,” Sinjin said with a small laugh that said he was anything but sincere. Seconds later, the laugh died on his lips and we both stood there, staring at one another, as if each were waiting for the other to make a move. He blocked the door to Betta’s room, though, so it wasn’t like I could go any farther.
“Can we continue to spar after the sun sets?” I asked, not bothering to mask a yawn. Then I glanced back at the closet. “I’m sure you’re probably eager to get some shut-eye too?”
Sinjin studied me for a few seconds longer before turning his attention to the window, where the light peeked through the corners of the curtains and was definitely growing brighter. “Fortunately for you, it appears the rising sun has rescued you, my dear,” he announced as he sidestepped me and took a few quick steps toward the closet.
“Thank God for that,” I grumbled as I gripped the handle of the doorknob before Sinjin’s voice stopped me.
“I trust you will not
attempt to flee whilst I am sleeping,” he said, his voice sounding amused somehow. “After the long, arduous journey to find you, I daresay I could not muster the strength to pursue you again.”
I glanced back at him and frowned. “I have zero interest in trying to escape. All I’m interested in is resting my head on a soft pillow and getting some zees.”
“Very well,” Sinjin replied with a brief nod, “as long as we understand one another.”
I laughed. “It’s probably the one thing we’ve always done, Sinjin. Yes, we understand one another … even if we’re usually on opposite sides of the fence.”
Sinjin narrowed his eyes on me, but a sexy smile crept across his full lips all the same. “Well said, Princess, well said.” Then he was quiet for another few seconds, although I couldn’t seem to pull my gaze away from his. “Sleep well, beautiful tempest.”
When he turned his back to me, I started for Betta’s room.
***
I came to with a start.
I’d been dreaming about the incident with Jack back at the compound. In my dream, I’d combusted into flames only this time the flames had scalded me, burned me from the inside out. When I woke up, I was sweating and my heart was pounding so fast, it took me a good few seconds to catch my breath.
When I glanced outside, I noticed that it was now night which meant that somehow, I’d managed to sleep for the entire day. That’s just how exhausted I was. I couldn’t say I was too surprised, because I hadn’t slept well during my imprisonment. Every time I closed my eyes, I was on edge, listening for the telltale sounds of my door opening to admit the next visitor who would mercilessly claim my unwilling body.
“Ugh,” I grumbled as I pushed the aftertaste of the horrible dream as far as possible from my mind. Instead, I opened my eyes and tried not to squint in the brash glare of the bedside lamp, which was shining right into my face.
“Finally you’re awake,” Betta said with a frown. She glanced over at me from where she lay atop the other bed in the room. She was holding the remote control to the television in one hand and a large french fry in the other while she balanced a plateful of the remaining french fries on her stomach.