“If they are coming for you,” he said impatiently, “your blood is still all over the bedroom, your scent all through the house.” He made this statement as if the rest were implied.
“I thought you said I had no scent?” I argued.
He hesitated before answering. “No, I think you were right. I was starved; I wasn’t myself. I can catch your scent now.” He raised his eyebrows and said, “Tasty…”
I dismissed his remark with a half smile.
Minutes later, Gabriel at last appeared, and as he jumped into the backseat, Jonah slammed the car into gear. Instinctively I reached for my chain; it wasn’t there.
“Wait!” I shouted. I didn’t have time to explain—I flung open the door and began running back to the house.
“Cessie!” Jonah yelled after me.
No!
Strange. It sounded like Gabriel’s voice, but it was like I had imagined it.
As I approached the entrance, Jonah appeared and blocked me, grabbing my arm. I didn’t have time to think about it. I forced my way around him and somehow, despite his strength, I found myself in the hallway with the winding staircase in front of me.
I sprinted up as fast as I could, telling myself we’d still have time to get away. The boards creaked loudly as I sprung up each one. Pushing the bedroom door open I charged through, snagging the cardigan on the bedpost, and raced into the bathroom.
There it sat, glinting and glimmering, its light reflecting off the glass table.
I scooped it up and quickly lifted it over my head, placing it back in its rightful position around my neck. At that moment, I heard a thunderous explosion. I spun around and, in a blink, there were flames engulfing everything, blazing up through the landing and filling every room and every crevice. The heat was so fierce that I thought I might melt before the fire reached me. I froze.
As the flames raced toward me, I felt the heat graze my face, but only for a moment; my feet swept past the carpet and my body was being elevated off the floor—Jonah!
We burst through the window; he covered my face with his shoulder, protecting me from the shards of shattering glass as we hurtled through the pane. He tried to brace me from the fall, spinning me, taking my weight on top of his as we crashed onto the ground below. Unfortunately, even he couldn’t prevent us from being launched farther with the blast that followed.
I landed several yards away from Jonah, facedown in the grass. My ears were ringing and my hands failed me as I tried to prop myself up. Immediately Gabriel was at my side, and in one swift movement I was in his arms and being bundled into the back of the car. Jonah was already at the wheel and we flew away from the furnace.
What were you doing? Gabriel shouted.
Automatically I raised my hand to touch my necklace. “I left it inside.”
Bewildered, his wide eyes met mine as he whispered, “I didn’t say that aloud.”
The car sped down the country roads. Gabriel, silently helping me into a more comfortable position in the backseat, began fastening my seat belt. The mood was tense and I could sense that Jonah was biting his tongue; he wanted to speak but followed Gabriel’s lead.
“Are you all right?” Gabriel said, casting his eyes over me.
“I’ll live,” I replied.
“That’s not what I meant. Are you hurt?”
“Perhaps a little bruised and embarrassed, but otherwise I’m fine.” I surveyed myself. “Oh, I ripped the cardigan, I’m so sorry.”
Gabriel looked confused. “That’s the least of our problems. Brooke won’t mind, don’t worry.”
“Thanks, Jonah. I think I owe you one,” I offered in gratitude.
“Even Stevens now!” he replied playfully. “How did you get past me anyway? I’m pretty strong, you know!”
I thought I saw him flex his bicep as he asked, just to demonstrate his point.
Gabriel moved back to his own seat and, pulling out a map, he began studying it. But I knew he was focused on my response.
“I think you must have tripped or something, I’m not sure. I just got by you somehow.” I wasn’t entirely sure myself.
“Hmm yeah, I guess so; no person…” he hesitated, “… could get by me that easily.”
His fingers met the dashboard and he started fiddling with the radio buttons. I thought about it for a moment and tried to recall. He had stopped me, hadn’t he? He grabbed me and I couldn’t move, but then … he was just out of the way and I was inside. As I focused on it, my head started to ache and I winced. Gabriel peered down at me.
Let him think he tripped.
His lips didn’t move and the words floated around my mind, clearing the ache that was developing. I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
How are you doing that? I thought. I didn’t say it. Could I communicate back?
Gabriel cast his eyes back down to the map. When we met, I believed you were a mortal. When I found you, you were gone. You’re obviously not and you clearly weren’t. Whatever you are, he must believe you are human. He continued scanning the fold-out map.
What do you mean, when you found me I was gone? If I was gone, how did you find me? And he already thinks I’m anything but human, I heard him telling you! I was getting angry now and I could feel my body tensing.
He is a Vampire, Francesca. I trust him, but he still has a connection to his Gualtiero, the Pureblood Vampire who changed him. We must be careful.
I felt upset, and an overwhelming sense of confusion started bubbling to my surface.
Why can’t you call me Cessie!
Here he was, this memory, this ghost whom I believed I had a connection with, and he couldn’t even call me by my nickname. I felt my skin radiating heat as my confusion swiftly transcended back into anger.
How the hell are you in my head telling me what to do when you’ve given me no explanations! When you left me! When you …
“Ahhh!” I screeched loudly as my thoughts were cut off by a violent ringing noise passing through my mind.
Gabriel clutched his temple, bowing his head down at the same second. He had heard the same deafening sound.
“Sorry, sorry! Not a fan of rock music, eh?” Jonah laughed, turning down the music bellowing out of the speakers.
I caught him glancing at me in the rearview mirror as he grinned. My eyes met his for a moment and his pupils widened in surprise. The creases in his cheeks ironed out into a smooth surface as his smile fell away. I covered my eyes with my hand as I felt them burning, wondering what he’d seen.