“Yup, we are secure,” Amelia said. “Megan made a bubble out of the shield so they can’t get in even from the sky. Oh, and we saw Officer McLean at the gates. He wanted to make sure we were on lock down.” She exchanged a look with Mitchell and muttered, “He was acting kind of elusive.” Mitchell’s face hardened for half a second with consideration, before he dismissed it as nothing.
“Have they found anything?” Erin questioned.
All eyes focused on Amelia, and she truly wished that she had some good news but there wasn’t any. “Nope, nothing that is of any use.”
Amelia was grateful that Mitchell didn’t hang on to the disappointment her words instilled on the group, and he pushed forward quickly, taking the focus off her. “Luke, did you guys find anything useful?”
“Nothing,” Lola answered instead. “There’s nothing in the library on hunters other than your journals, and there’s nothing here that stands out other than Amelia, that is. Maybe we should check out the crime scenes again?”
Mitchell seemed to consider this idea for about half a second before he shot it down. “Too risky. We don’t even know how many of them are here, who they are, where they are. I’m standing by the lock down. No one that has been singled out is going to step outside the gates.”
“So that’s the plan?” Eric said, hostilely, and Megan grabbed his hand before he could jump out of his chair. The gesture kept him sitting but just barely. “We’re just gonna hide! We should be out there hunting the killers. Ripping out their throats. For Mabel.”
“Rushing out will just get more of us killed,” Mitchell said. “We need to lay low. Come up with a plan. Clearly trying to find them didn’t work out so well.” He shot Amelia a quick glance, and what he was trying to say clicked. Heat rushed to Amelia’s cheeks as she clued in that during his nightly escapades he had been searching for the threat.
“Eric,” Amelia said softly. “You can’t be reckless. It’s not just you anymore.” She cut him a meaningful look, and he relaxed slightly pressing himself closer to Megan.
“Tyler?” Mitchell prompted. That’s when Amelia realized what this meeting actual was. A de-briefing. She hadn’t been the only one with a mission this morning.
“I called the funeral home. We really can’t do much until the investigation is over, but I bought the caskets and head stones. Jess and Justin’s ashes have been sent over. I guess they don’t need them for the investigation. Jimmy is preparing one of the Lang family plots for Mabel at Cedar Stone Cemetery and is waiting to hear from us about what we want to do for the others. He faxed over a sample program so we could start planning the service.”
When Tyler finished, Angelle jumped in. “Mitch, I know this isn’t that important and all, but we need to fix Eric’s room. There was some structural damage and err… his floor is kind of on my bed right now and we are sort of out of rooms.”
“Do any of you know how to fix walls and ceilings?” Megan asked quickly, which was answered by a bunch of blank stares.
“Seriously?” Amelia said. “You guys have been around for centuries.”
“It really wasn’t something we needed to know,” Luke said. “It’s easier to hire someone.”
Amelia sighed and glanced around, taking in the worn expressions on her family’s faces and she couldn’t help but feel like they were missing something or maybe someone. “Mitch, did you take an inventory of the humans and vampires? Is everyone accounted for?”
“I did it,” Luke said. “Lola and I made the rounds this morning. Everyone has been accounted for.”
With a gesture from Mitchell, Erin took the floor next. “After leaving one bag per vamp, we have fifteen pints of blood left, but I haven’t rationed anything for us yet.”
“We’ll be out of blood within a day,” Angelle said, her voice strained and unnerved.
“How much do you guys need?” Megan asked, turning a touch green with the question. It was clear that she had thought they had plenty of a supply.
“Most of us take one full pint a day,” Eric whispered, keeping his eyes on the floor as if his was ashamed of his answer.
“We can cut it down to half a pint,” Mitchell said, as he began to pace back and forth in front of the map of the town. “But anything less than that could be dangerous for the humans here.”
“Does anyone know what the safe amount for someone to donate is?” Megan asked.
“Yeah,” Amelia answered. “A person can give no more than two pints every eight weeks and that’s pushing it.”
“So you’re saying that even if every human here gave the max, we’d only have enough for another two days?” Erin asked, and Amelia knew it was a stupid thought, but part of her wanted to jump up and do a dance. Erin had figured it out. Obviously all of Amelia’s tutoring had paid off. She hadn’t even needed to think about the answer.
“Maybe we should send all the humans out of the complex,” Luke said, his hazel eyes narrowed, deep in thought.
“Not an option,” Mitchell said, shooting the idea down. “The only human here that hasn’t been singled out as marked is Megan and that was last week. They may know about her now.”
“We could call the prison,” Lola suggested.
“Out of the question,” Amelia replied, jumping to her feet.
“Millie, it seems like the only option,” Erin said.
Amelia’s brow creased as she worked her mind, trying to think of any alternative. For a moment, she blocked out everything; Mitchell, her family, the pictures, everything, as she tried to figure out a solution to what she was sure was the most important problem at hand. If they lost control, let the hunger get to them, everyone was as good as dead. It was clear that the vampires were probably one of their biggest assets. They had experience. They could fight. They knew what to expect from the hunters, so locking them up—which was her first idea—wasn’t going to work. When the answer came to her, it was evident that it was really the only option. “No, the only real option is that I will go to the blood bank.”
CHAPTER 16
Amelia stood in front of the window, looking out over the front yard. Puzzled, Mitchell watched her and wondered when had she changed so much? He wasn’t sure, but one thing he knew was that, without a doubt, she wasn’t his precious little bud anymore. She didn’t need to be nurtured or protected. Seemingly, overnight she had blossomed and transformed into someone much more powerful and magnificent than he had ever dreamed possible.
He had taken her for granted for way too long, looking at her as his, when he should have been looking at her as his partner. As he watched her glisten in the waning sunlight, the truth was undeniable. She was not his, rather a branch of him as he was a limb of her, and together they completed each other. To win this war he knew they needed to work as a unit. They would have to stop the fighting, let go of the past and move on—together. But the truth was they were at war. And this would be the ultimate test for him; he was positive. Would he be able to loosen his grip and let the pieces of their interlocking existence join together, allow their souls to fully unite? Could he suppress his natural urges to protect her and lead his troops to give her the room to grow into the ruler he knew she could be?
“You aren’t going alone,” he said for the thousandth time, but even as the words came out, he knew the firmness he had hoped for was lacking, and he saw the slight blush creep along her neck, a clear indication that she had been listening to his thoughts, and she knew his resolve was starting to falter.
“Yes, I am,” Amelia said evenly. She turned from the window with a stately grace and moved to his side where she belonged.
“Can’t you guys just eat animal blood?” Megan asked. “What’s so special about human blood anyway? Blood is blood.”
“Technically, we could survive on animal blood but…” Mitchell began.
“Survive?” Eric gaffed, cutting him off. “It’s not surviving. It’s more like sentencing yourself to an eternity as a mindless zombie.”
Mitchell
couldn’t stop himself from laughing at Eric’s interpretation. He remembered when Eric had just turned and swore he would never drink human blood. It hadn’t lasted long.
Amelia’s raised eyebrow made him stifle the laugh and explain. “The reason our hearts beat, or why we can go in the sun, or how our bodies stay young and strong, is because of the human blood. Your cells and blood vessels and essentially the human essence provides us with the nourishment we need to sustain our abilities. If we switch to a lower form of blood, like animal blood, the first thing that goes is our hearts. Without the heartbeat pumping the blood we drink through our systems, our bodies start to dry up from the inside out until our frames are nothing more than chalky skin and brittle bones. As our bodies weaken, we can no longer bear the sun, we lose our heightened senses and start to decay, becoming, as Eric put it,” he paused for a second, fighting the laughter that threatened to bubble out, and he cracked a grin, “mindless zombies.”
“But you said you could survive,” Megan countered.
Mitchell let his grin fade, and he took a seat, pulling Amelia onto his lap and hugging her closely, before he said, “We wouldn’t die, but we also wouldn’t be really alive either. Our bodies would live through it, but unless we have human blood, our minds wouldn’t. The change is quick, too. Within a week you guys wouldn’t know us to see us.” Then he dropped his voice to a whisper, not really wanting anyone to hear his next words. “That is, if you guys even lasted a week with us changing our diet. We’d be shriveled up, our skin hanging from our bones.”
He wasn’t surprised when Amelia blurted, “What do you mean if we even last a week, Mitch?” She had been so quiet, sitting on his lap, leaning against his chest; he had known it was only a matter of time before she found her voice. She always did, and it was one of the many things he loved about her.
“Love,” he said and kissed the top of her head, inhaling her pear-scented hair. “We are predators whether you want to believe it or not, we are. Not just me,” Mitchell said when Megan gave him a look that blatantly said she didn’t believe him. “Eric has killed as well. When the hunger kicks in, we can only resist the urges for so long, and then the animal inside us will take over. Even if one of us didn’t hurt you guys, someone else would, and weakened, we wouldn’t be able to stop them.”
A thick silence fell over them, and Mitchell almost wished he hadn’t sent everyone else to the library. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, maybe they would find something useful, but now he really wanted one of Angelle’s annoyingly chipper reassurances. He held his breath until the inevitable decision was brought back to the forefront.
“Meg could go with you, Millie,” Eric offered, breaking the silence. “She could watch your back at least.” Megan nodded violently in agreement to the idea.
“I don’t think that’s smart,” Mitchell disagreed. “As of last week, the hunters didn’t know about her. She may be our only secret, and with her magic…we need to keep her hidden for now. Besides, you two could be a very valuable weapon, and right now it’s important for you to learn how to connect with each other and use each other’s strengths.” He sucked in a deep breath and tried to relax as he readied himself for his last plea, the only thing he could think of to change Amelia’s mind, and he looked down at her. “This is why I don’t want you to go. We need to teach them how to…”
“Sorry, dude,” Eric said with a goofy half smile on his lips. “But Meg and I have that covered. It’s a lot easier when you aren’t fighting it.”
Mitchell opened his mouth, about to spit out another lame reason for her not to go, but Amelia stopped him. “You need to stop this.” Instead of the normal annoyance that usually streaked her voice when she disagreed with him, she was calm and cool, which managed to unnerve him. It confirmed that he was in fact losing his timid and dependent girl to a strong and independent woman, and he wasn’t entirely sure that that was a good thing. “I’m not as fragile as you seem to think.” Her lips curved into a grin. “Hell, I’ve made it through eight months of living here with you guys, haven’t I?” And then she looked up at him with big, pleading eyes. “Let me do this. Let me help for once.”
Out of options, Mitchell bent down, and kissed the top of her forehead. He didn’t have to tell her that he would step back and let her go; she already knew.
“Good, it’s settled,” Amelia said, hopping off his lap and stepping back from him. “I’ll go first thing tomorrow morning.” With that decided, she turned on her heels and headed out the door.
“Where’s she going?” Eric asked, as the three of them watched her disappear down the hallway.
Mitchell did a quick check and then chuckled when he heard her silent mutters about her so-called stupid witch powers. “She’s going to see if there’s a spell she can use to fix your room and clean up Angelle’s.” He watched her disappear around the corner, and he knew this was his chance. He needed to talk to her. He had to make things right.
“Wow, do I feel like a moron,” Megan said. She popped up from her perch beside Eric. “I didn’t even think of using magic to fix it. I’ll go help her.”
Using his full speed, Mitchell blocked the doorway. “Actually, could you guys hang back?” he asked. “I need to talk to her.” And then before they could reply, he went after her.
Mitchell caught up to Amelia just outside of Angelle’s bedroom. He silently followed her in to survey the damage, still unaware of what had transpired to destroy two rooms of his house. He thought about asking, but something told him to leave it alone—at least for now. So instead, he asked, “Amelia, can we talk for a minute?”
He was astounded when Amelia huffed, unmistakably annoyed. “Please don’t tell me there are more things you’ve kept from me. ‘Cause seriously, I can’t take anything else.” She moved across the room over to the large slab of ceiling which was crushing Angelle’s bed. Her brow rutted in concentration as she scrutinized the hole above. “Can you lift this and hold it in place?” she asked, before he could deny that he was not hiding anything else.
Utterly confused at her question, he followed her outstretched finger to find that she was pointing to the chunk of ceiling.
Mitchell easily picked up the layers of hardwood flooring, insulation, concrete, and ceiling, holding it above his head as high as his arms would reach. “I’ve been thinking a lot since last night,” he said.
“When I say so, do you think you could jump up and put it in place?” she asked, as if she hadn’t heard him speak. “You’re about two feet too short right now.”
Mitchell’s temperature dropped as he mulled over the idea that she was outright ignoring him. He knew she could hear everything he was trying to say. He forced himself to keep hold of the ceiling, which now was threatening to crush him under its weight, and tried to send out a probe to get a handle on her feelings, but he couldn’t seem to lock on. His own mind was so tangled—fear, loss, grief, pain, pushing their way to the forefront—that his brain seemed to be refusing to take any more in.
Amelia was staring at him, waiting, and it took him a second to figure out that he hadn’t actually answered her question, so he said, “Whenever you’re ready.”
She didn’t waste any time. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, her aura blazed like the burning sun, and then ribbons of white light weaved down her arms, balling at her fingertips. “Now,” she grunted, and the second his feet left the ground, bolts of pure power rushed into the air, swirling around him in a blast of light.
The whole process of mending the ceiling lasted no more than a few seconds, but when Mitchell landed on the floor, he staggered as if he was drunk. His knees wobbled, and before he could regain his balance, he had fallen over. He had forgotten what it felt like to be in direct line of her magic, letting it penetrate into him without fighting it and soaking it up. It was like a drug, fast acting and mind-blowing. He could feel the energy lingering in his blood, warm and alluring.
“Mitch!” Amelia shrieked. “Oh my God, a
re you okay?” She was suddenly beside him, her expression a mask of concern.
“I forgot how awesome that feels,” he breathed. Unable to explain, he opened his mind, letting her see what he was feeling.
“Oh,” she breathed, rolling off her feet and plopping onto her bottom beside him. “Wow, you can feel it, the magic. It’s like…it’s part of you.”
He closed his eyes, losing himself in the heavenly feeling. “It is, love. That’s what I tried to tell you. When you use it and I’m not fighting it, it becomes part of me. The same way you can pull on my persuasion, I can pull on your magic.” He forced his eyelids open and held out his hand, palm up, as he pulled together a ball of white light, the same way he had seen her do many times. He smiled at her widened eyes and then let the ball disperse into the air. “I bet if you tried, you could use all of my heightened senses.”
He lay back on the floor and looked up at Amelia’s handy work. It was as if the hole had never existed. If it weren’t for the dust and debris that covered the floor, he wouldn’t have known that just moments ago this room was missing a ceiling. He could feel her watching him, and his nerve started to falter. Keeping his eyes fixed upwards, he cleared his throat and swallowed his nerves.
“When you fell asleep last night, you snuggled up to me, and you were smiling. It was the most perfect smile, sweet and content and innocent.” He sighed and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to figure out how to say what needed to be said. “I tried to rationalize the way I’ve acted with you. I tried to tell myself I’m being an ass for your own good. To make you stronger. To protect you. To mold you into a leader. But no matter how I’ve tried to justify it, and believe me I’ve tried, it all comes down to me using force to keep you here with me. I’m sure all abusive boyfriends say this, but I really never used to be like this, and I really don’t want to stay like this.”