Scorch (20 page)

Ding.

Kira's phone beeped—a signal from Luke that
they were almost there. And sure enough, Kira felt the car slow.
The suitcase she was in slid forward, banging against the front of
the trunk as the tires squealed.

Muffled voices grew louder and Kira heard the
pop of the trunk through the slightly opened zipper to the left of
her ear. Holding onto the foam lining as much as possible, Kira
braced herself for lift off. Squeezing her body inside of a large
suitcase was one thing, but having someone lift it was an entirely
different story. She may not be large, but she wasn't a waif
either.

Someone moved her, bringing the suitcase back
toward the opening of the trunk. Or at least that was the direction
Kira thought she was moving, but that could be—

Holy crap, she was airborne. Same as before,
her hipbones pushed against the sides of the suitcase as it
painfully dug into her skin. And slam, Kira's body shook as she was
dropped on the pavement. Her teeth bit into her lip, almost drawing
blood. Now she was reclining, moving so her back shared the burden
of holding her weight, and she was moving, rolling down an uneven
path.

Stop. More muffled voices. More movement.
Until finally, Kira heard the metal at her ear jingle and zip.

"I'm going to kill him!" Were the first words
out of her mouth, followed by the quick clamp of her lips to keep
the sweet smell of Sonnyville from overwhelming her. Breathe, just
breathe, Kira repeated to herself, slowly inhaling and exhaling
through her nostrils. She felt the darkness weaving around her
senses, felt it call for the smell of blood drifting through the
air, felt it ripple along her canines.

Breathe, Kira said again, calming herself.
She kept her powers locked tight. The smell slowly ebbed, getting
less and less noticeable. Control, she thought, she just had to
keep it controlled.

"Who?" Kira was pushed back to reality…to her
pained limbs. She stood.

"You!" Kira spun toward the sound of Luke's
voice and shoved his chest. "Fifteen minutes? More like an hour!
And that foam stuff was crap, I have bruises everywhere."

"I'm sorry," Luke said holding his hands up
as if to fend off another attack, but then his eyes sparkled, "but
it was your idea in the first place."

Kira's eyes widened and she went in for
another shove. "As a joke!"

"I still wouldn’t have thought of it if you
hadn’t put the idea in my head," he said, slipping laughs out
between the words and continuing to step backward out of Kira's
reach.

She lunged for him anyway.

"Enough," a deep voice boomed behind her. "As
much as I side with my granddaughter, there are more important
things to discuss. Like why you're even here."

Kira turned around with a sheepish grin. "Hi
Grandpa," she said, waving, and then looked to the side at the
smaller, but still white-haired, woman next to him. Leaning over to
kiss her cheek and offer a light hug, Kira added, "Hi Grandma."

Luke nodded formally to both of them,
regaining his composure and Tristan reached out for a
handshake.

"When I spoke with Luke on the phone, he said
you wouldn't be coming."

Yeesh, Kira thought, she had forgotten how
down to business he could be.

"I know," she replied, "but there was a
slight change of plans. I just, well, there's a lot to fill you in
on."

"Tea?" Her grandmother asked. Everyone, even
Tristan, responded with 'yes' and a prolonged sigh. "Why don't we
all sit down?"

A few minutes later, five steaming cups were
placed on the dining room table, now occupied by Kira, Luke,
Tristan and her grandparents.

"So you think the vampires are gathering
outside of our walls for an attack? Led by this man Aldrich? Luke
mentioned so much to me over the telephone, which was why we used
the UV emitting car to pick you up at the landing strip. But why
the secrecy with Kira?"

Luke looked at her, questioning. Kira wasn't
sure how much she wanted to reveal.

"We heard the Punishers had gathered strength
around here, that a lot of people might not be so welcoming if they
saw Kira arrive," Luke said, not lying but not telling the whole
story either.

"Is that true?" She asked. He nodded
gravely.

"The Punisher Council has done a very good
job at making their case, and your running away didn't help things
either. A lot of people think that their accusations might be
true…" He narrowed his eyes, peering closer at his granddaughter,
almost as if he could sense the change in her. And maybe he did,
because he was offering her the perfect opportunity to speak up. If
she could buck up and take it.

"They are," she said quietly, quickly so she
couldn’t back down. Staring at her cup, Kira watched the steam rise
from her tea in silence, wondering if maybe that was what the smoke
inside of her looked like. But hers was dirtier, more like a shadow
than steam.

There was a gulp, but Kira couldn't say who
it was.

"They are right," she said again, sitting up
straight, stopping her cowardly behavior. It was the truth, and she
had to keep facing it. "I'm turning into an original vampire, but
Luke and I think we found a way to stop it." Or at least she hoped
they did, that choosing one power over the other was key.

"How?" Her grandmother asked, in her sweet
singsong voice that even then seemed somehow happy and hopeful.

"That's not important," Kira paused, not
important or just not explainable? Forget it, she pushed past the
thought, "what matters is that it is happening, I am falling, and
Aldrich knows it. That's why he attacking Sonnyville, in the hopes
that I'll fall and bring every other conduit down with me."

Her grandfather met her eyes, transferring
some of his strength into her with a meaningful nod. He understood.
He knew what was at stake, but wouldn't give up. "I assume you have
some sort of plan?"

"Of course, Sir," Luke leaned forward, "it's
unorthodox, but, we made an alliance," he paused to look at Kira,
"we made an alliance with vampires."

"What?" Her grandfather's loud voice boomed,
reverberating off the walls of the small dining area. Kira reached
out, grasping his hand—to comfort him or to hold him in place, she
wasn't sure. Her grandmother held his other hand and the two of
them locked eyes, almost in an inside joke even though it wasn't
the right time for that. Kira held her eye roll back, but her
grandmother didn't, and it gave Kira strength—maybe she could
change his time-fortified beliefs.

"Just listen," Kira tugged on his wrinkly
hand, getting his unsteady attention, "I made an exchange. They'll
fight for us, help take down Aldrich, and in return I will turn
them human when all of the fighting is over. They know the risks
and they want to help."

"I will not willingly allow vampires inside
these walls, it's an out—"

"Don’t worry," Kira interjected, almost happy
Pavia had the same thought, "they don't want to come inside.
They'll stay beyond the wall, they'll fight from the outside." Kira
leaned forward on her thighs as the bigger picture expanded right
before her eyes, reminding her what so much of this fight could
really be about. More than personal vengeance, or vendettas. It
could be about a whole new world.

She glanced at Tristan as he silently sipped
his tea, listening intently but knowing it was not his place to
speak. He was the future. He was the proof that not every vampire
was as evil as conduits had always believed.

"Don't you see," Kira continued, "I saved
Tristan. And you said it before, we can save more vampires. We
don't have to be enemies with all of them. And this fight can be
the start of that—the start of Protectors doing what they were
always meant to do—Protect. Not kill."

Tristan stared at her from across the table
as a small blush rose to his cheeks. He didn't know that, Kira
realized. He never knew what his life meant, what his redemption
could mean. She crinkled her eyes, letting appreciation light her
irises.

Her grandfather pursed his lips, rubbing his
palms together. Luke's foot tapped under the table, impatient. This
needed to work.

"What's the rest of the plan," her
grandfather grunted, giving his unofficial agreement to the first
part. Kira smirked and Luke squeezed her thigh reassuringly—so far,
so good.

"The rest is business as usual," Luke chimed
in, getting excited, "the conduits gather in the town square, ready
to face whatever vampires manage to make it over the wall. We form
normal ranks, and put the children under lock down, guarded with
our best fighters and half of the Punisher Council." Her
grandfather nodded, but Kira had a slightly different idea.

"Or we evacuate them," she said slowly.

Her grandfather looked at her slowly, eyes
widening as understanding took over. "The escape route under the
wall."

"That's the one," she agreed happily, "send
them with a protective guard and get them as far away from the
fighting as possible."

"Funny you never mentioned that idea before,"
Luke said under his breath, sensing her ulterior motive.

"It came to me while I was stuffed in the
suitcase with nothing but my thoughts to ease my pain," she replied
sweetly, a little too sweetly. His eyes narrowed. Dang it, why
could Luke read her so well? She couldn’t stop now though. "Do we
by any chance know where it is?" His eyes shrunk to tiny
slivers.

"Yes, one second…" her grandfather eased
slowly out of his chair, his body betraying the strength his voice
evoked. He returned with a large scroll and rolled it out on the
table.

Blueprints.

"It starts here, in a hidden passage in the
basement, in what has been the house of the head Councilman since
the day Sonnyville was created."

Kira followed her grandfather's finger as it
rubbed against the paper, tracing a thin line that began under this
very house, ran straight along the main road, under the wall and
emptied right beside the first intersection, at least three miles
outside of Sonnyville.

Bingo.

She looked at Tristan. This was his
salvation. A way for Pavia to come in, a way for her to erase his
memories, a way for Kira to save him from the darkness that haunted
his vampiric life.

"What?" Kira asked, shifting her gaze.
Someone had asked her a question.

"Is that the whole plan?" Her grandfather
asked. Kira nodded. "I'm calling an emergency Council meeting.
Luke, come with me to the town square, tell everyone what you told
me over the phone. Do not mention the vampires or the fact that
Kira is here, just the imminent attack." Luke nodded, all
business.

"Lana, come with us. Lead the children and
their guards to the passageway when the time comes, you remember
the entrance I showed you long ago?" Her grandmother smiled yes,
partly proud of her grandfather for being such a strong leader, but
also proud that she could help.

He looked at her. "Kira, stay here and stay
hidden. Keep Tristan and yourself out of sight, and whatever
happens, do not join in the fight. If what you say is true, and you
really are falling, we cannot risk it."

Luke's eyes bored into the side of her head,
focusing hard on her response. "I'll do what you say." Almost, she
thought to herself, almost.

"Then there is nothing more to discuss. Let's
go." He stood up, rolling the parchment paper back into its
original tube, before striding from the room. Her grandmother
stepped after him, lightly on her old feet.

Luke turned, but paused, looking back at
her.

"How much am I going to hate whatever you're
planning?"

"Not much," Kira said, her lips popped open,
widening of their own accord. She wasn't just saying goodbye to
Tristan, she was choosing Luke once and for all. Because she loved
him, because he was her best friend, and because she refused to
take away Tristan's newfound peace, his second chance at life. "In
fact, you'll love it."

Luke brought his eyebrows together, tilting
his head and plumping his cheeks to the beginning stages of a grin.
Excitement was brewing on the other side of their bond. A sort of
hope had sprouted in the corner of his mind but there was also
confusion as to what had started it, a sense of doubt. "Then why
won't you tell me?"

"I'm waiting for the right time," Kira said,
using her fingers to push his chest toward the door. "And two
seconds before a big Council meeting isn’t it. Go." Kira nudged him
again, thinking for a second that his indecision was cute, in a
totally loveable and easy way.

She kissed him quickly, barely brushed his
lips, but still a warm tingle flowed slowly down her body. He
leaned down for more, but Kira turned him around and pushed again.
Didn’t he ever listen? She said it wasn't the right time.

Luke took a second look and ran a hand
through his messy yellow locks. Then with a slight shrug, a sign he
would let it be, he followed her grandparents out the door.

For a moment, all Kira could appreciate was
the fresh air, the clean scent, the almost complete absence of
sugar filling her nostrils. The conduits were gone. She had made it
through her first interaction in Sonnyville. And she could control
it, at least a little, enough to see Luke again before the fight.
Because that would be the right time, finally.

Realizing she hadn't moved, Kira peeked out
the curtains, following Luke's movement down the block and around
the corner.

Go time.

"Tristan?" Kira spun.

"Yes?" She looked over toward his voice.

He was still at the table, sitting quietly
and sipping his tea. The black hairs her fingers could trace by
memory were in disarray, slipping over his eyes, messy in a way
that could only look good. Those lips, ones that had one traced
their way down her body, were flushed, hot from the tea. His skin
was smooth. His forehead unmarred with concern, despite the chaos
that had been surrounding him the past couple of days. And his
eyes, brown, but not plain, a rich warm chocolate laced with
caramel. She could lose herself in those just as easily as in the
deep blue sea that was once in their place.