Burning in a Memory (25 page)

The guilt lingered in the afterma
th of happiness, but lessened. She’d be selfish for Adam. Whether he knew what he wanted or needed. Or not.

Twenty-
one

             
When she’d first arrived, the floor plan of the massive house seemed complex and confusing. Now she navigated it with ease. Walking through the first floor, she looked it over one last time while listening to the natural sounds of the Coltons’ home. From her time here, Adelaide learned the coven members’ daily habits. At nine a.m., Priya and Tony would be sleeping upstairs. Preeti would be in the shower, using up all of the hot water. Angie would be out on rounds outside of the house. Adam was the only wild card, but Adelaide left him asleep in his room this morning.

             
Stopping at the kitchen, she picked up the two ceramic mugs from the counter and spied Angie out of the window. The redhead’s job was to stay aware of any incoming shades but the woman settled on the porch, basking in the sun. More shades might have come after sniffing out Leon’s aura, but Angie obviously thought they were not close enough to be a threat. 

             
Maneuvering carefully with the hot cups, Adelaide walked up the stairs slowly. The water whistled through the pipes on the second floor. Priya and Tony’s room was silent and dark.

Every member of the coven was accounted for minus one. And she knew where to find him. By the time Adelaide reached the third floor, she felt his aura. The entire third floor felt like it was pressurized
all of the time now and it slowed her pace.

He heard her before she even reached the door.

“Hello?” Leon called out.

Adelaide knew she couldn’t run away now. His door was halfway open so she nudged it with her foot. It creaked on its hinges as it opened. Leon’s eyes lit up with recognition at her appearance. He was sitting on the banister of the bed. A sweeping glance of his room revealed that he was alone among his piles of books and dirty clothes.

“Hi,” she said.

             
“I forgot we have a human here. It’s always weird not feeling an aura. You’re like a ghost,” he laughed.

             
His smile made her feel safe enough to walk inside but she watched him carefully as she did. He sat cross-legged in sweatpants and no shirt. His hair was erratic from sleeping recently but his facial scruff was well maintained. Face still gaunt though, he always looked like he was only steps away from collapse.

“I brought you some tea. I figured you could use something in your stomach,” she said quietly.

              His gaze locked on the cup she held out to him and hesitated before he accepted it. He placed it on the bedside dresser without taking a sip. Adelaide’s heartbeat sped up but she managed to keep her face placid.

             
“Thank you. You’re very thoughtful. Sit awhile. I wasn’t finding anything in these books anyway.”

             
She took a second look at the musty covers of the book stacks around him, but she didn’t recognize the titles.

             
“What are you reading?”

             
He shrugged.

             
“I’m just looking for answers again, but I can’t find another reported case anywhere of someone like me.”

             
Adelaide perched in a chair closest to the door and farthest from Leon.

             
“That just means you’re unique,” she said half-heartedly.

             
Her fingers itched to grab her pendant but it was no longer around her neck, so she clasped her hands around her cup instead. The tea smelled strongly of honey and prompted her to take a small sip. Leon never mimicked her movements. His steaming cup sat ignored and grew colder by the second. 

             
“Unique isn’t good if you need answers to get better. I’m sick of being sick,” Leon said. He tossed the book aside and it crashed into the stack. Then he scooted forward to the edge of the bed. “I’m surprised you came back to talk to me. I was afraid I scared you away last time,” he said.

             
She worked to sound sincere so she spoke honestly.

             
“I’m terrified of you because I never know what to expect. The guy I could commiserate with over Adam or the one that nearly killed his brother.”

             
Leon’s face paled significantly.

             
“Is Adam okay?”

             
Adelaide knew at that moment this was dangerous territory to venture into, but she needed to bet her chips that Leon wouldn’t flip out.

             
“He says he’s fine,” Adelaide said quickly.

             
Leon shook his head erratically.

             
“Adam always says that. Adam hasn’t been ‘fine’ in forever. He’s always taking on other people’s problems too, trying to protect them. I wish he would let me deal with this on my own sometimes,” Leon said.

             
She laughed dryly.

             
“Hey, that’s another thing we agree on.”

             
Leon’s face softened.

             
“Well, at least he has you.”

             
Adelaide’s chest suddenly felt constricted. The unusual onset of pain left her eyes watering.  She mentally coached herself onward. It hurt, she realized though. Sitting here with Leon now actually hurt. Leon suddenly leaned back and picked up his mug from the table. She forced herself to watch his face and not his hands, but she saw that Leon’s grip on the cup was idle.

             
“So how are you doing?” she asked.

             
This conversation was dragging out longer than she expected and she felt the minutes tick by slowly. The other members of the coven couldn’t sleep forever. She listened for the sounds of the house again, but found it perfectly silent in Leon’s room.

             
“I’m okay now, I promise. Let’s talk about something else. What is your life like in the city, Adelaide? I miss being there so much.”

             
“What do you miss about the traffic and taxes?” she asked but didn’t manage a smile to follow up the joke. The pain in her chest was rapidly becoming unbearable. She eyed the door and wondered if she could still double back. The thoughts grew so tempting and the inner battle raged while Leon rambled on unsuspecting.

             
“I miss being anonymous. And I miss the movies, the restaurants, and the other people.”

             
Leon finally brought the cup up to his lips. Her heart skipped a beat when he threw back a gulp. And like that it was over. By the time he placed the cup back on the counter, the Hawthorns’ serum already flowed through his veins. She stood abruptly and refused to meet his eyes.

             
“I’m sorry. I’m really really sorry, Leon, but I have to go.”

He watched her but no recognition flashed over his eyes. It was possibly the first side effect of the poison now in his veins. Leon finally nodded.

              “Thanks for the tea,” he said but she was already out the door. He’d probably finish drinking it or at least a bit of it until he realized something was off. By the time she reached the stairs, adrenaline raced through her body. She descended the stairs and paid attention for the other coven members. The shower was off on the second floor, but the place was quiet. The living room on the first floor was empty and Angie no longer sat on the porch.  Adam’s door was still shut.

             
Adelaide slipped by the kitchen and grabbed the keys from the counter. She never ran into another person on her way out, but stayed ready for her luck to end. One click to the key remote and the Jeep chirped loudly. She was behind the front seat of the Jeep in another minute.

             
The key felt heavy in her hand and she pushed it into the ignition. She snuck a look back at the house and the top floor. Leon’s window was open but she saw nothing but his curtains blowing in the breeze. She felt for his aura but found it lacking. Leon had to be dying by now.

             
“Go, Adelaide,” she told herself. She twisted the key and prompted the engine to roar to life. Throwing it into drive, she floored it. The tires squealed when gas flooded the motor and dust exploded from the spinning tires. The Jeep moved swiftly, separating her from the Coltons’ house.

             
She headed north. While she wasn’t exactly sure of her location, she knew that heading north would eventually led her to a city. The sun shone brightly and revealed the clear road ahead.

             
For a second, Adelaide remembered how to breathe. It was so easy. It was even too easy.

             
Then she saw the first shades. They were at least a mile away and had bunkered down in the hills and crevasses. The sound of the car must have stirred them because they began to crawl out of the woodwork. Adelaide pumped the gas again but the car only moaned in response. It couldn’t go any faster than she already pushed it.

             
Adelaide successfully blew by a few of the shades completely untouched. She drove too fast to decipher how strong they were or if they planned on attacking. She had no aura so shouldn’t have seemed like a target, but that wouldn’t stop a few from coming to investigate.

             
Watching her rearview mirror, she sized them up. Then the car skidded, the dirt giving under the tires. She turned into the resulting spin, but the car still whirled out of control. Inertia didn’t matter. The Jeep suddenly came to a grinding halt. As the cab lurched forward, she narrowly avoided smacking the dash. The airbags hadn’t blown, but she recoiled regardless. Hand scrambling for the knob, she seized it and kicked open the door. The car’s engine still churned but it couldn’t propel the car to move. Reluctantly, but quickly, she hopped out and faced the only shade that stood in her way.

             
“Mistel, what are you doing?” she spat.

             
Mistel stood in the path of the car in all of her glory—cracking porcelain skin below brilliant blonde hair and a trademark twisted smirk. Adelaide looked at the shade only briefly and then glanced behind them. She barely made it a mile away from the house before Mistel had taken out her only transportation. A dust trail could lead the houses’ occupants straight to them.

             
Worse, the shades mulling in the rocks came out now. Their curious gazes locked onto Adelaide but they hesitated.

             
“I wanted to come see how you were doing on your important little mission. The one so important that you ran away from me,” Mistel said.

             
Adelaide resisted the urge to bark something nasty. It would have been going so much better if she could actually escape.

             
“It’s over and my deal has been completed. You can’t touch me now without fearing the wrath of the Hawthorns. I am protected,” she virtually shouted. All of the shades within earshot should at least think twice now.

             
Focusing on Mistel, she waited for the woman to give way.             

             
“Leon Colton is not yet dead,” Mistel said.

             
Adelaide’s heart fluttered. Fearing to look behind her now, she itched to return to the Jeep. She needed Mistel to move and release her hold on the vehicle.

             
“I’ve given him the poison. It won’t be long,” Adelaide insisted. “Don’t argue with me over trifles! Seconds, minutes!”

             
Mistel’s head cocked to the side. She studied Adelaide with an apparent calculation.

             
“You don’t actually think that the potion they gave you was poison to induce death, do you? You are mistaken,” Mistel said slowly and very quietly.

             
Adelaide stiffened. Her mind flashed to the shade in the basement that had said something similar.

             
“Who told you about the potion?” Adelaide asked. She had told no one and yet every shade out there seemed to know about it. Mistel didn’t answer immediately. The wheels in Adelaide’s mind spun. “How did you find me here, Mistel? Why did you come?”

             
“I heard about your potion after I talked to the Hawthorns myself. It is an effective potion, but it will not kill him.”

             
Adelaide did a double take. As if she couldn’t believe what she heard, she rubbed her ears madly.

             
“All the shades in the world are afraid of Leon. They want him dead. The Hawthorns would not give me a potion that would not work.” Her resolve was failing her though she clung desperately to her logic. Shades lied all the time and it only made sense that Mistel was lying to her now.