Scorch (19 page)

Gone. They are gone. Why was that concept so
difficult to comprehend? To believe?

"Do you miss them?" She asked. This was a new
Tristan, one who honored his past rather than keeping it from her.
In a way, Kira felt like she was getting to know him for the first
time, or at least getting to know a side of himself that he had
always kept hidden from everyone, even her.

"Yes and no," he said, leaning back in his
seat, eyes glazing over, "My mother. I miss her the most. The truly
unconditional love she honored me with, it was a rare thing. My
father and I, my brother and I—we never really understood each
other. I miss them, of course, but not the way you miss a true
friend, how losing them feels like losing a part of yourself. I
miss them because they were familiar, they were my blood, and
there's always something to be said about that. But they were never
part of my soul."

"But your mother was?"

"She was everything to me," he said softly,
paused, "and yet, I feel as though another piece of me is missing
too, something I don't know how to identify." He looked up at her,
through the dark black lashes framing his eyes, and the slightly
shaggy hair that fell down over his forehead. Kira's heart
sped.

He was begging her—begging her to tell him
what the missing part was. But she couldn't it, because Kira didn’t
know. She didn’t know if part of him was dying from missing her, or
if part of him was still lost somewhere in the memory of being a
vampire. Either way, it would soon be gone, spirited away by
Pavia's powers, and he would feel whole again. At least she hoped
he would.

"Can I ask you something, Tristan?"

He nodded.

"If you could choose between vengeance and
love, what would you pick?"

"Love," he answered quickly.

"Even if it was to avenge your mother? Even
then?"

He laughed. "Especially then."

"How are you so sure?"

"All my mother ever wanted was for me to
marry, to find a wife, to love. To throw that away would be to
disgrace her memory, not to honor it. But perhaps this is a
question I should be asking you?" He raised his eyebrows, trying to
peer through her, right into the thoughts she was trying to shield.
"I didn’t quite follow the three of you before, but this man
Aldrich, what did he do to you?"

"He killed my mother…" Kira sighed. He killed
you, she continued in her thoughts. He took away Tristan's soul. He
was the catalyst that broke them apart. He was the joker, dancing
the dream of her mother around, dangling it like a noose made
specially for her. He was the dark hole wedged inside of her
heart.

"What do you think she would want for you?"
Tristan asked.

Kira thought back to the few memories she had
from Pavia. The warm home, the warm thoughts, the big dreams. She
knew what her mother would want—love will prevail. Kira had known
what her parents had been fighting for all along—the chance to be
happy, the hope that love might just win out in the end.

But another memory pulled at her. Aldrich.
Back in England, he had interrupted her in the garden. A dreamer,
that's what he called Tristan. But not her. He had named her a
realist, someone who worked in facts and not wishes, who lived in
the real world instead of the happy fantasy.

Kira didn’t know what she was.

There were facts: Aldrich was a bad man, he
was attacking Sonnyville, he had to be stopped, Kira could kill
him, could choose her Punisher side, but in doing so would lose
Luke forever.

Then there were dreams: Tristan finding peace
with himself, Kira feeling free of the weight of the world resting
on her shoulders, saving vampires who want to be saved, falling in
love, knowing the sun would stay with her forever, knowing the
killing would finally stop.

A choice.

"Kira."

She looked up toward the staircase where Luke
was standing, his eyes glued to Tristan's hands in her lap. His
lids closed slowly, painfully, and then he was looking at her,
silently pushing any jealousy to the back of his mind.

"I spoke with your grandfather," he said,
voice strained. Kira slipped her fingers from Tristan's. He slowly
followed suit, hesitating before cutting contact completely.

"What'd he say?"

Luke walked down the stairs before collapsing
into his empty chair. "It's not looking great in Sonnyville. The
Punishers are still petitioning to have you killed—they think our
running away just proved that they had been right. He said they've
been noticing an increased vampire presence and turned the UV wall
around the town up to a stronger setting. And, feelings about you
within the town are mixed and it's hard to tell which side has more
support. Basically, gloom and doom as per usual."

"I'm starting to get tired of that," Kira
joked.

"Me too."

Kira clicked her tongue, thinking. "Did you
tell him about the attack? About our suspicions?"

Luke nodded. She paused, taking a deep
breath.

"Did you tell him about me?"

Luke met her eyes, the fire-flaked emerald
green pierced through her, and shook his head.

"Are they prepared to fight?"

"As prepared as can be, but he seemed
doubtful. If there are as many vampires as we're afraid of, I don't
see how the Protectors can fight without any help. The presence of
the Punishers will ease the pressure a little, but having me there
to strategize and having Pavia's vampires could mean the difference
between victory and defeat."

Kira knew where this was going. Me. He had
said me—not us. She stood up, pointing at him forcefully and
shaking her head. "No way. You are not leaving me behind."

Luke wrinkled his nose, and stood to
challenge her. "Kira, you can't come. You need to stay away from
all of the conduits until we figure out how to stop whatever's
happening to you."

"I won't."

"You have to."

"Luke, come on. After all of this? You just
want to cut me out? I don't care if you lock me in a closet when
the battle starts, but I have to be there. I have to help."

"Kira, it's too dangerous. And not just for
you, for everyone."

"I'll just steal your car and drive there.
You can't keep me out of this."

"God," he said, and ran a hand through his
thick blond hair, sighing, "can't you just listen to me this
time?"

"No," Kira said quickly.

"How will you even get inside? Half of
Sonnyville wants you dead."

Half? Kira gulped. Her list of allies seemed
to be getting shorter on an hourly basis.

"We'll think of something. Zip me inside of
your suitcase or something, I don't care. I just need to see my
grandfather, to help him plan out the fight. I promise, I'll stay
inside, I won't let anyone—not even Aldrich—know I'm there."
Crossed-toes still counted right? Kira thought, wedging her
second-toe over the big one inside of her sock. No way would she
let someone else fight her fight.

Luke raised his eyebrows. "You'll willingly
keep away from the action?"

Kira nodded earnestly. Luke snorted.

"Please, I've known you too long to believe
that one. At least try to be inventive."

Pavia strode in, making no attempt to be
quite as she said goodbye and hung up the phone. Saved by the
vampire, Kira thought.

"Alessandro just confirmed it. He joined some
of Aldrich's cronies and they had very loose lips, good for us.
They're amassing outside of Sonnyville, just waiting for the go
ahead." Just waiting for me to arrive, Kira thought.

"Did he learn anything else?" Luke
questioned. He flicked his eyes to Kira one more time, letting her
know he hadn't forgotten anything.

Pavia shook her head.

"Any word from the other vampires? How fast
can you all get there?" Kira asked.

"As soon as you need us, but no sooner. We
won't be able to hang around outside of Sonnyville unnoticed. Once
we get there, we need to get right to the fighting."

"Sounds good to me," Kira replied. She wanted
to end this, once and for all. "Your vamps attack from the outside,
Luke and I rally the conduits on the inside and Aldrich is
toast."

"I have an idea," Luke said quietly, almost
as if he wasn't quite sure he wanted to share it. Kira waited. He
tensed and then sat up. "There's another way in, a secret way under
the wall."

"Really?" Kira jerked in surprise. Why hadn't
he told her?

"It was a backup, in case vampires ever
surrounded Sonnyville. A way to get people out if we needed to. But
it can also get people in, people like vampires. But only the
Council knows where it is."

"My grandfather will show us, he—"

"Don't," Pavia said quietly, "don't show us,
just in case something happens or someone follows us. We'll fight
from the outside, like Kira said."

"You're sure?" Luke asked. "Being inside
might provide more protection."

"Or a Punisher might kill us when we're not
looking," she replied. Kira sank back in her seat, unable to deny
it. If the conduits wanted to kill Kira, nearly one of their own,
there was almost no way they would agree to peacefully fight
alongside vampires.

All of them stopped talking, choosing to
think for a minute instead. Blood rushed in Kira's veins, warming
her body, exciting it. The fight was finally here, and this time,
Aldrich would not escape. One way or another, he would pay.

"So saying I agree to let you come—"

Kira rolled her eyes and interjected,
"meaning you've realized there's no way to stop me."

"Meaning I'm a kind hearted soul who knows
how much this means to you—"

"Who's also afraid of me," Kira supplied.
Luke smirked.

"Who's also deathly afraid of pissing you
off—how do we get you inside without Aldrich knowing? We need to
hold the fight off for as long as possible."

"We can't drive," Kira said.

"Flights will automatically be suspicious,"
Pavia said.

"And parachuting is totally out of the
question…" Luke deadpanned and looked at her, forcing his wavering
lips together. "You might have had something with the luggage."

"For real?" Kira asked, concerned with how
serious his voice sounded. He nodded earnestly. Kira couldn’t
detect a joke…but he had to be kidding, right?

"Not the whole time," Luke sat forward,
leaning on his forearms as his features became more animated, "we
take the private plane, and when we land, you'll squeeze into a
suitcase—don’t look at me like that, we can line it with memory
foam or something—and then none of the conduits will know you're
there. The vampires will only hear my name, hear about me landing,
and I can say you stayed with your family, that you're waiting it
out in Charleston. I'll go right to your grandfather's house, and
we'll open the suitcase there."

"Aldrich won't buy it," Kira said.

"Maybe not forever, but we don’t need long.
We only need enough time to organize the conduits and give Pavia
the final word to attack."

"It might work," Pavia said, shrugging and
throwing a wide, teasing grin in Kira's direction.

A suitcase. Really. Kira breathed deeply. It
was for a greater cause, the good of her people…but a suitcase,
really?

"Fine," Kira said through gritted teeth, "but
you're bringing Tristan with you, Luke." She looked at Pavia
quickly, then to Tristan who sat up upon hearing his name. Kira had
one more thing to do before the fight.

She had to give Tristan his life back. To
restore his soul by removing any and all memories of his life as a
vampire.

To finally say goodbye.

Chapter Thirteen

She was going to kill Luke… kill him. I
bought the thickest memory foam, he said. You'll be fine, he said.
It'll only be fifteen minutes, he said.

Kira was going to kill him.

Her entire body ached and she had definitely
been in this stupid, dark, suitcase sweating in her own hot breath
for at least half an hour.

Ouch.

Another bump. How ridiculously ill-paved were
the roads in Sonnyville? Kira questioned, wishing she could rub her
sore back. When he had zipped her up, Kira had sworn that Luke was
silently laughing at her with his eyes. But then he had lifted the
suitcase to its rollers, so her bottom was wedged painfully in the
narrow space taking on her full weight, and Kira knew—this was his
grand revenge for never letting him win.

We'll see who's laughing when I finally get
out of here, Kira thought, wincing as the car bounced over another
pothole.

With no other distraction, she tried to focus
on the plan. Pavia had regrouped all of the vampires aside from
Alessandro, who was still acting as the inside mole, and they were
making their way to the outskirts of Sonnyville—far enough away to
avoid Aldrich's detection, but close enough to be there within
minutes. And since vamps could usually run even faster than a car,
Kira guessed they would be there in an hour or two. Hopefully that
would be fast enough.

Luke and Tristan were sitting comfortably
inside of the car, hopefully talking loudly about how they had left
Kira behind with her mother, how they had foiled Aldrich's
plot—just in case there were vampires listening as well as
watching. Tristan was pretending to remember everything and Kira
had given him a few key pointers to mention—her falling, the fight
in England, how his human body had adjusted to his vampire
memories…basically anything that might throw Aldrich off.

And, well, Kira was obviously stuck in the
trunk, disguised as a very heavy suitcase filled with books Luke
had gathered on conduit lore.

Would Aldrich buy it? Hopefully for the few
hours she needed to convince the Protector Council that in order to
win this fight, they needed to listen to her.