Ascend (The Vampire Destiny Series Book #4) (19 page)

He pushed back his black hair and grinned widely.  "You are new to the world of the supernatural, Josephine.  I was a witch a long time before I was a vampire.  Humans see what they choose to see.  I simply help them along."

I studied him for a few more seconds before I managed an answering smile.  I still struggled reading people.  I'd relied on my psychic abilities and they were long gone.  Would I ever trust my gut instinct to learn to trust someone at face value? "Could you come to New York if we decide to proceed?"

Liev sat back down in his leather chair, the leather creaking under his weight.  He folded his hands and met my stare before focusing back to Stefan.  They exchanged a long look.  "For you and for Garrett, I will.  He was a good man."  He opened a desk drawer and fished out a card.  "This is my personal number.  Call when you need me."

I slid his card in my back pocket.  "Thank you."

Stefan inclined his head and led me towards the door.  He opened it a crack when Liev's voice rang out.

"You'll be getting many surprises. Trust few and look within your inner circle.  You have a wolf within the flock."

Stefan and I both froze.  He found his voice before me.  "A wolf?  Explain."

Liev’s lips twisted into a somber smile.  "Someone within your inner circle will betray you.  You have a Judas in your midst."

"How do you know?"  I sputtered.  Yanking myself from Stefan's grasp, I was at Liev's desk in a blur.  "Is my father..."

"I read your cards.  As for your father...he will not stop.  He has a mission, just as you do."

***

"Hello, Josie." I couldn't see through the darkness to the person speaking, but I could feel him there as if he was all around me, as if he was hidden in the darkness.

"Garrett?" my voice was coarse but quiet.

He stepped out of the shadows.  Slim and well dressed in a dark suit, his brown hair was wavy and sprinkled with grey.  His blue eyes were covered with his metal-framed glasses, the ones that always slipped down his nose when he was bent over a book.

"You're a little late if you're here to offer advice," I bantered.  The lightness drained from my voice. "I found the journals.  And your note."

"I wish I could reassure you," Garrett stood an arms length away, giving me room to breathe. "You look like you need someone to talk to."

"I..." I paused.  "I feel like the only person I can trust is Stefan.”

He took off his glasses and polished them with a cloth he pulled from his pocket. "I know.  And for that, I am truly sorry."

I watched him pocket the small square and slide his glasses back on.  "Why is that?"

"This is not what I wanted for you.  You were born into a life you didn’t ask for." He sighed loudly. "Josie, I should have told you who I was.  I'm trying to right that wrong."

On cue my stomach clenched and a cold shiver ran up my spine. "It's funny.  I said almost the same thing yesterday.  If I would have known...I could have prevented this."

"You couldn't have stopped Kian.  He would have killed us regardless." His voice had a hint of sorrow to it, and in that moment I felt weight lift from my shoulders.  "Stefan had been waiting a long time for you.  It was time."

Nodding, I stared down at my feet.  I didn't know if I'd have this chance again.  "Garrett, I'm sorry. You were a wonderful father...I realize that now.  Things are going to get harder, aren't they?"

His hand clasped my shoulder, and even though it was freezing to the touch, I could sense the compassion. His voice dripped in empathy. "Things always look bleakest before the storm."

I looked into his kind eyes. "What do I do?"

He turned, walking into the growing shadow. "You do whatever it takes to protect your family.  You avoided death with immortality, but eternity is a long time to carry regret and grief."

Our time was over.  He was slipping away.  "I know."

Garrett advanced into the black flames of the darkness as I was pushed towards the light. Just before I braced myself, I heard him speak again. "Now for my sage advice.  Let the guilt go and regret nothing you do if it means you live to see another day.  One day soon, you'll pass those words on to one that you love.  Goodbye, Josie.  I love you."

I awoke with a gasp.  It was early morning and I was up long before the sun.  Stefan was asleep, his legs tangled in the sheets.

Brushing my hand over his hair, I stretched and climbed from the bed.  Grabbing jeans and a faded t-shirt, I headed down the hallway without making a sound.  As I entered the kitchen, I made short work of preparing my breakfast.  A month ago, I'd be brewing coffee.  This morning I was drinking bagged blood.

Potato, potahtoe.

I was draining the glass when a loud knock brought me back to the present.  My mind scanned through the people that knew we were here.  Lukas, Anna, Nikolaus, the caretaker of the house...who would be dropping by for an early morning visit?

Dragging the back of my hand over my mouth, I rinsed out the glass and set it in the sink.  By the time I was heading towards the door, a rumpled Stefan had met me in the hallway.

His mental voice hit me; at the same time, his beautiful smile lightened his handsome face.  
"It's Liev.  He wants to know our decision.  And he has information for us."

“You know this for sure?”
I asked, watching as he strode towards the door, bare chested in low-slung jeans.  

“When someone is this definite in their decision, it is crystal clear.”

Stefan yanked open the door and I saw Liev standing on the front porch.  His austere face was gloomy and melancholy.

"Good morning.  I know the reason for your visit, Liev.  We have not decided."  Stefan blocked the doorway with his large, imposing frame.  "We advised you we would contact you."

"I know.  Give me ten minutes to explain why you need to know."  Liev paced the porch nervously like a caged animal.  “I’m only asking for ten minutes.”

I walked to stand behind Stefan.  I placed my hand on his bicep, squeezing it lovingly.  
"He can't hurt us by talking.  Let him in."

Stefan sighed heavily.  "Against my better judgment, come in.  You have five minutes."

He stepped aside and let Liev pass.  Liev nodded to me in greeting and followed me to the living room.  His eyes took in the barren room as Stefan protectively stepped between us.

"This...this is temporary.  I thought you might stay after all," Liev murmured.  His fingers combed through his black curls.  "I have information that might help you make a decision."

"You knew we'd be leaving soon.  And it couldn't wait until afternoon?  What information do you have that can help? We have things under control," I replied tartly.  I crossed my arms defensively and felt Stefan's apprehension in the bond.  

He shook his head. His face was grim.  "Not if you want to win."

"Win?" I repeated.  I widened my stance and locked my knees, narrowing my eyes.

Stefan's shoulders tensed as he approached the much smaller vampire.  "Enough with the cryptic banter. Explain what you are hiding."

I could feel Stefan's barely concealed fury.  He was wary of outsiders by nature, and the fact that Liev was a witch made him even more of an untrustworthy adversary in his eyes.

"You both need to let me help you remember the past you shared. Josephine has already started to have memories and if you both remember, it will make you stronger.  It will help Josephine handle her gifts better if she knows why she has them."  Liev continued to pace the room.  He was a blur, zipping from one side to the other in a blink of an eye.

He'd started to make yet another pass when Stefan moved to grab his arm.  He held it tightly, his long fingers wrapping around it and squeezing it with increasing force.  Those hands could be loving and sweet.  They could also be deadly if necessary.

"No one spoke to you of any powers. Whom are you working with?"  Stefan asked.  A deep growl reverberated in his chest as he searched Liev's face.  His eyes glazed over as he searched Liev's future.  "Who are you protecting?"

If possible, his pale face blanched even more.  His dark eyes stood out in sharp contrast to his pale skin.  He swallowed tightly and his shoulders slumped.  "Protecting is a strong word."

"You are wasting time.  Your life means nothing to me.  The runes have been translated.  You have become a threat to me and my mate."  Stefan's eyes darkened and he pulled Liev closer until he loomed over him menacingly.

"Let him go."
I thought to Stefan.  Stefan released his grip and I let my shield wrap around him in the place of his hands.  Striding across the room, I smiled at my uncle's friend.

"I have no loyalty to you.  I owe you no explanations. I appreciate that you helped me out with Garrett's journal, but I won't risk Stefan's life or my own.  I have two questions.  How much do you know about me and are you working with my father?" I asked.  He thrashed against my hold, but his efforts were futile.  "You can struggle all day long and I can crush you.  Or you can answer our questions and we can move on.  It's entirely up to you."

Liev exhaled loudly.  "I know you're gifted.  Garrett told me about your psychic abilities when you were younger.  If you weren't extraordinary, you wouldn't be alive.  Kian only kept the talented ones alive."

I loosened my hold on him slightly.  He had my attention.  "You know about the others? There are more?"

Liev nodded.  He glanced between Stefan and myself.  "Your brother Nikolaus.  He's still a hybrid?"

"For now.  He may make the change." Stefan leaned against the doorframe.  Our eyes met and his blue eyes softened slightly.  "Love makes you reevaluate everything."

"You're right.  It does.  The love of my life was burned at the stake in 1692.  I'd been turned already and it wasn't enough to save her,"  Liev whispered.  He lowered his head and I felt the struggle leave him.  "Nearly 200 years ago I was approached by a young man.  He was neither a human nor a vampire.  He begged me for safe harbor.  He was being hunted, you see.  He had escaped his prison and had been sent my way by a mutual acquaintance."

His words hung between us, ceasing all conversation.  Stefan pushed off the wall and came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and resting his chin against the top of my head.  "This hybrid you speak of...it is the one you are protecting, yes?  Do you know where he is at this moment?"

"Yes.  I know where he is," Liev answered brusquely.  He fixed his dark eyes on my face.  "If I let you meet him, how do I know I can trust you?  Are you still the same Josie that visited Garrett at the library, or has he changed you completely?  He is your maker and he can command you to kill me.  I can't leave him unprotected.  I've kept him under a cloaking spell for nearly 200 years.  I can't hand him over only to watch him die too.  He's like my son."

Releasing my hold on him, Liev dropped to the floor.  Pulling reluctantly away from Stefan, I crouched down beside of him.  "My father tried to murder me when I was still partly mortal.  If not for Stefan, I'd be dead...." My words wandered off.  I licked my lips and shook my head.  "He then tried to kill Stefan less than a week ago.  He killed two vampires and injured another.  I want him dead, but I'm not stupid enough to put anyone's life at risk.  Who is the hybrid’s father?"

He considered my words for a while before he stood.  He walked to the door and tipped his head backwards, staring at the ceiling.  "I will reveal that information later.  It’s on a need to know basis. Call me tonight at 7 o’clock.  We'll set up a meeting point."  He yanked open the door and turned to face me a final time.  "Don't make me regret this, Josie."