Seven Days (12 page)

“Maire, he’s going to get himself killed. I don’t know what to do.”

I'd repeated the same words more times than I cared to count since I'd found the note on my pillow. Without his phone on him, no one had been able to reach Xavier and none of the pride members had been able to find him. Claude and Andre were still searching the alleys and bars in East Hampton after having exhausted the possible hiding places Lane might have used in Highland Home. They called every hour, but with each phone call, I heard their own desperation to find either Xavier or Lane grow. As worried as I was about the damage Xavier might do to himself in his quest for revenge, the pride members were even more concerned. I would lose the man I loved, but they would lose their leader.

Mairin sat down on the deck chair beside the one I had huddled myself into.

"Kerry, if there were anything I could do, you know I would do it, but until Xavier comes to his senses or one of the vampires or panthers finds him, there isn't anything we can do."

She sighed. “I know you’re worried about Xavier, but you have to have faith that he’ll take care of himself well enough to come home safe.”

“Do you trust Mathias like that?” I asked. I regretted the question almost as soon as the words passed my lips. I knew that Mathias had done things in the past that had hurt Mairin deeply and had harmed his own heart in the process.

“Since his promise to never do anything for my own good rather than his own, yes,” she said. “But I understand your worry, Kerry.”

“I’m more worried about Xavier finding Lane than not,” I said. “I don’t know how Xavier will live with himself if he has to kill Lane himself.”

Mairin nodded but didn’t say anything. We’d been over this issue more times than necessary since she'd picked me up from Elise's house. I was getting as tired of the topic and the never-ending monologue running in my head as she was. Only Mairin's dedication me made it possible for her to put up with my rambling. She knew I was talking just to have something to do--something to distract me from what I imagined was happening somewhere in an alley in East Hampton.

“How could a father do that to his son?” I asked. “Lane had been through it all himself, why would he want his son to have to go through it too?” And why would Lane want me dead, I added silently. Lane’s attack on me made even less sense than his attack on Xavier. I’d only met the man once. Nothing about that meeting in Tyler and Dorothy’s driveway seemed to point to the reason for Lane’s homicidal pursuit of me. Sure, the man was unstable, but I wasn’t his daughter. I was nothing but Xavier’s girlfriend.

“I don’t know, sis,” Mairin said. “From what you’ve told me, it sounds like Lane has some pretty serious issues. Not having met the man, I can’t tell you anything more than you already know. If I’d gotten a better look at him at the football game, I might have been able to tell you something from his aura, but all I could see was the blood on you.”

I swallowed hard. I hadn’t come to Mairin only for comfort. One of my sister’s gifts was the ability to see auras. Different auras told her different things about the people to whom they were attached. Human auras and wereanimal auras were different colors. I wanted to ask her if my aura had changed. I needed to know what she saw in me now, if she could see for certain what Dr. Coffman’s blood tests didn’t.

“Maire...”

“Kerry, I...” She paused and looked hard at me. I could see the wheels turning as she tried to come up with a gentle way to tell me what she was seeing or not seeing. She sighed. “I know what you want to know,” she said. “But I’m no more certain than the doctor was. Your aura’s a little different than it used to be, but it’s not what I’d expect from a wereanimal. Your aura is still blue, but it’s not quite the same shade. If your aura had changed to orange like Xavier’s, sis, I’d tell you.”

“Would you?” My heart thumped heavily in my chest. I wanted to believe Mairin, but I also knew how often she would go out of her way to protect me if she thought doing so was in my best interest.

“Yes I would,” she said. “I know the waiting is killing you and if I could ease your mind, you know I would, but there seems to be nothing we can do but wait.”

I sighed. I realized, again, I wasn’t the only one waiting. I knew Mairin was just as worried as I was and I’d been so focused on my own issues that I hadn’t even thought of what she might be going through. It was amazing how small your world became when you realized you might have only a few days in which to live a normal life, if my life could be considered normal, of course. Every time I felt like a regular teen-aged girl, the reality of my life: the sister who had premonitions, who could see auras and who dated a vampire; my own boyfriend and his change into a panther when the moon was full or the power of his cat was needed; and my own healing abilities would smack me in the face. What was one more weird thing added to all of those things? Especially a weird thing that would be something I could share with Xavier.

“We should take Kerry back to Elise’s home, my heart,” Mathias said from the kitchen doorway that opened onto the deck. “The pride will worry if she is not back before dark. I think it would be best if they did not come here until some of the European vampires are a little more in control of their...baser instincts.”

I knew that was Mathias‘ diplomatic way of reminding me that somewhere in this house were vampires who were far less civilized than he was. I shuddered. I always forgot how dangerous my sister’s world was until either she or Mathias said something about the other vampires. I might not know the details, but I knew Mairin was dealing with something difficult and dangerous. Suddenly, I felt like a selfish, self-centered jerk. Here I was whining about something that would certainly change my life, but wasn’t going to kill me while my sister spent her days trying to separate herself from creatures who would kill her if she wasn’t careful. I unfolded myself from the chair and followed Mairin into the house, silently vowing to stop being such a baby. I would be fine, no matter what happened at the full moon.

The big Italian vampire, Gino, waited by the front door. Gino always seemed to be near Mairin and his presence irritated Mathias to no end. If I hadn’t known how volatile a vampire’s temper could be, I’d have laughed at the look on Mathias‘ face. He hated Gino’s ability to appear out of nowhere to hover around my sister, but he was too civilized and polite to say anything while I was there.

“Your orders for the evening, little queen?” Gino asked as Mairin approached.

“I hate when you do that, Gino,” she said. Mairin hated nicknames, had all her life. She tolerated Mathias' use of "my heart," but I could tell by the tightening of her jaw that "little queen" was completely unacceptable. “Just take care of yourself and the others. We’ll be back in the morning.”

“Of course, little queen,” Gino said.

“Does he always talk to you like that, sis?” I asked as we all got into Alfred’s SUV. I tried to hide my giggle, but Mairin heard and frowned at me.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’ve even ordered him to call me by my name, but he insists on that ‘little queen’ crap. It’s kind of annoying.”

I had to agree. Aside from amusing me because he annoyed Mathias, Gino kind of freaked me out. I had caught him watching me and my sister as though he was waiting for us to do something significant. I couldn't begin to imagine what he was waiting
for; I just knew that every time I caught him watching us, it gave me chills. He looked at me as though waiting for me to transform into something worthy of worship. I wanted to be grateful to Gino for saving Mairin on the beach during the battle with Azael, but his insistence on being over-protective of us both made it difficult to like him. Both Xavier and Mathias had asked Gino to back off a bit when the search for Lane had begun, but the Italian vampire had refused. Despite being bound by his tie to Mairin, Gino seemed able to ignore orders that put him at a distance to me and my sister. I didn't really care what the deal was between Gino and Mairin; I just wanted him to leave me alone. He creeped me out.

The ride to East Hampton was a mostly silent affair. Mairin and Mathias sensed my desire for silence. Exhaustion weighed heavily on my body and my soul. I didn't want to talk about how furious I was with Xavier for cutting himself off from the family and the pride. I didn't want to talk about the fact that neither the panthers nor the vampires had been able to find either Xavier or lane. And most of all, I didn’t want to talk about the waning hours between the present and the future. I didn't want to put to voice the fears that rode within my heart. I just wanted that time to pass quickly so that my wait would be over. I wanted to be able to move forward rather than remaining in stasis.

When we rounded the corner and Elise’s house became visible at the end of the street, I sighed. More and more this tiny house in this old, run-down neighborhood felt like home and it was good to be home.

Several members of the pride were already in the house when we arrived. Christian’s wounds had healed nicely and he was sitting on the floor with Claude. They had commandeered the television for some video game and the other boys were jockeying for position to play the winner. Elise had set out food in the kitchen and kept reminding the boys not to spill anything on her carpet that they didn’t want to have to clean up themselves.

“Thank you for allowing Mairin to stay with you this evening, Ms. Meyers,” Mathias said. “I will return for her in the morning.”

“Where are you going?” I asked. I’d assumed Mathias would be staying with us while we waited for Xavier to come home. No matter what the pride thought, a vampire was an asset when it came to protection from dangerous enemies like Lane.

“Into the city,” Mathias said. “I am meeting with Alfred and others of our kind to ask if any have come across Lane since his arrival.”

“Oh,” I said. I was pretty sure “into the city” was a euphemism for “going to feed” for the vampires, but I didn’t press for details. Elise barely tolerated the vampires in her home as it was. I didn’t want to remind her of what she considered to be their less than civilized habits.

“You and Mairin should be safe with this much of the pride here,” Mathias said, glancing at the group of ten young panthers arguing with each other in the living room. “However, if either of you feel you need me, Mairin has my cell. If you need me, call and I will return quickly.”

“Thanks, Mathias,” I said. “I probably don’t say that enough.”

“There is no need for you to thank me, Kerry,” he said. “Your family has done more for me than I can ever repay.” He watched Mairin helping Elise refill the plates on the table in the kitchen. I knew he was thinking of how Mairin had saved him in England. The depth of his love was evident in that gaze and I trembled.

“She loves you,” I said. “So much it frightens me sometimes.”

“I know,” Mathias said. “I have tried to convince her I am not good for her, but she will not listen. I am selfish enough to want her in my life even though I know I am not what is best for her.”

“You’re what she wants, Mathias,” I said. “When you left her, she disappeared. She went back to being the ghost she’d made of herself before you came to Highland Home. If you hadn’t come back, we would have lost her.” Mathias flinched and I felt just a little twinge of guilt for having been so blunt. I knew Mathias didn’t like to think about the months during which my sister had become a ghost because he’d left her, but he needed to know that to leave her again would probably kill her. I wouldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t lose my sister because the man she loved thought he was not what was best for her. “Whether you think you’re good for her or not, she needs you.”

“She is lucky to have family like you, Kerry,” he said, a soft smile lifting the corners of his mouth. He turned toward Mairin and called, “I am going, my heart.” Mairin crossed to Mathias, kissed his cheek and walked with him out to the porch.

“For a vampire, he’s not a bad man,” Elise said, following Mairin from the kitchen to join me in the living room.

I nodded, surprised to hear Elise speak so highly of Mathias.

“Mathias is a good man, Elise. Better even than you or I think he is. Mairin loves him and he loves her. That should have been enough to tell us what kind of man
Mathias is."

“She does love him,” Elise said. “but who we love is not always the best way to judge another's character. Lane loved Dorothy and she believed him a good man until he showed her otherwise. Sometimes love is the worst way to determine the type of person someone is when no one is watching.”