Simmer (4 page)

"Two," Kira added.

"Three," they said simultaneously. Kira
flipped the handle, shoved the door open and jumped out. Luke had
already rounded the car and Kira sprinted forward, keeping pace
with him. They made it out of the dark parking lot and were greeted
with the bright lights of the airport entrance. Neither one of them
slowed for a second until they were at the automatic door, panting
and out of breath, but alive.

Kira sucked air into her lungs. The distance
hadn't been far, but fear had made her heart race even faster than
the running. When she straightened and walked through the sliding
door, Kira noticed the security guard for the first time. He looked
at Kira and Luke with clear suspicion.

"Nice night for a sprint through the parking
lot, don't you think?" Luke said as they walked by and Kira elbowed
him in the ribs. That taunt would not help anything. Luke shrugged
and made his way to the ticket counter. Kira waited with their
bags, looking up at the arrivals and departures board. It was
almost one in the morning, and while Kira loved Charleston, the
small, two terminal airport was not exactly hopping at the
moment.

She scanned the names, searching for Orlando
or something in Florida, but there were barely any planes flying
for the rest of the night and the flights for the next morning had
already been listed. Sighing, Kira walked over to Luke, dragging
both of their bags behind her.

"There aren't anymore flights tonight, we
need to find something for tomorrow." She said when she got closer.
Luke turned with two tickets in hand and grinned.

"Don't worry. We're not flying
commercial."

"What? What are we flying?" Kira went for the
tickets, but Luke moved faster, keeping them just out of reach.

"You'll see."

Kira didn't like the smirk on his face, but
she followed as he walked past her, picked up his bag and made for
the security check.

They walked silently through the brown,
carpeted hallways. The last time Kira had been there, she
remembered judging the quaint decor, thinking it provincial
compared to the vast, open space of New York's LaGuardia Airport.
But now, Kira appreciated the hand-painted murals of herons on the
marsh and Carolina gators. The personal touches of the smaller city
were welcome, and she realized that soon she would be downsized to
an even tinier town, which brought her thoughts right back to the
conduits and the mysterious transportation they had provided.

Luke strode confidently through the airport
and politely waved to the workers they passed as though old
friends. Kira stepped more meekly behind, afraid of what she
approached.

When they reached the terminal, Luke showed a
flight attendant their tickets and she opened the exit door,
signaling both of them to follow. Kira had no idea what to expect
as she walked through the opening into breezy air, but the
streamlined five window private jet that greeted her was the last
thing she imagined.

"Luke, is this a joke? That can't be our
ride."

"No joke. Conduits fly in style," he
whispered in her ear and used his finger to close her jaw, which
had dropped straight to the floor.

"How is this possible?" Kira asked, still not
convinced.

"Just follow me." Luke laughed and looped his
arm through hers, tugging her down the steps and over to the plane.
Kira followed him up the entrance, ducking her head to fit through
the ovular door, and almost couldn't believe what she saw. Eight
cream-colored leather seats, large enough to fit two people each,
filled the space. One long couch stretched below the windows on the
left side of the plane, and two flat-screens graced the front and
back walls of the space. The cup holders and foldout tables were
made of mahogany and Kira thought even the carpeted floor looked
luxurious. She felt her mouth hang open again and moved to close it
as a man stood up from one of those comfy seats that Kira couldn't
wait to collapse into.

"Luke! How have you been?" The man asked,
stretching his arm out to shake Luke's hand. Kira took note of his
tailored suit and sandy blond hair, before reaching out to shake
the hand he now focused on her. "And you must be Miss Dawson. It's
an honor to meet you."

"My pleasure," Kira said, still not totally
trusting the wide smile he presented her.

"Kira, this is Councilman Andrews," Luke
said, but something in the way he looked at her made Kira even
warier. She remained silent, letting the tension build into an
awkward silence. For some reason, Kira couldn't bring herself to
trust this Council or its members.

"Well, now that introductions are out of the
way, we have business to discuss. Luke, come sit with me?" The
Councilman asked, breaking up the moment. Luke nodded and picked up
his suitcase.

"Wait," Kira touched Luke's arm. "Mr.
Andrews, can I please talk to him first?"

"Of course," the Councilman said, flashing
that smile again, one that was slightly too wide to be real.

Kira sat down, sinking into the chair that
was even more comfortable than she could have imagined. Luke sat
across from her.

"Pretty nice, right?" He said, gazing around
the small room.

"Well, yeah. You said you would explain this
little surprise?"

"I can't go into details right now," Luke
nodded his head in the Councilman's general area, letting Kira know
the Councilman was listening in on them. "But, let me put it this
way: Area 51 is real, it's just not about aliens. In exchange for
our help, the government keeps our secret and gives us military
funding. And a fancy way to fly was at the top of our list."

"So, what? You're saying that the government
has some secret lab where they study vampires?"

"Basically, yes: vampires, among other
things. We've heard rumors of were-creatures or faeries, but I've
never seen any." Kira leaned back, processing. She guessed there
had to be other things out there, but still, actually hearing it
was just bizarre.

"Luke?" Councilman Andrews called out. He
sighed under his breath.

"Look, I have to go talk to him. I need to
brief him on what happened and let him know why we arrived so much
sooner than planned." Kira nodded in understanding.

"Before you go, I just want to say thanks. If
you hadn't been yelling instructions to me, we probably wouldn't
have made it here. I never even saw that vampire in front of the
car and until you screamed at me."

Luke smiled slightly, "I don't even remember
screaming. Must have been too caught up in the action. Anyway,
there's a phone in the armrest, I thought you might want to call
your parents once we get in the air."

"Thanks," Kira said and watched as he
retreated to the rear end of the plane to talk to Mr. Andrews. It's
amazing, Kira thought, how he thinks of everything. He had saved
her life again that night without even realizing it.

She felt the plane vibrate as the engine
started and looked out the window to watch as they started moving
closer and closer to the jet way. She felt the plane pick up speed
after they rounded the last corner and she held on as it lifted off
the ground, defying gravity in a way that still amazed her. The
forest below started shrinking and the cars racing down the highway
began to look more like toys than anything else.

Kira wished it were daylight so she could
catch one last glimpse of the Ashley River in memory of one of her
favorite afternoons. She searched for the lights of Charleston, but
saw only the black stretch of the ocean. Folly pier would be out
there somewhere, she realized, as she stared out at the eastern
horizon.

Leaving things behind was always hard, but
leaving the place where she had discovered so much about herself
was more difficult than she had realized. In the past year, almost
everything about her life had changed, but South Carolina had been
a constant. The humid air that clung to her skin, the tangy smell
of salt in wind or the rustle of a palmetto in a chilly winter's
breeze — all of it had become comforting to her. Sonnyville, home
of an ancient society she had only just scratched the surface of,
would be completely new. She would miss the sand, the beach, the
hot sun, and the low-country attitude where enjoying life was the
most important thing.

Kira stopped searching the darkness for her
home and reached inside the armrest for the phone instead. She
dialed and it rang once before it clicked.

"Hello?" It was her mother, and Kira felt
sorry for the obvious panic in her voice.

"Mom, it's me. I'm—"

"Oh, thank God. What happened? Are you
alright?"

"I'm fine," Kira said loudly, halting her
mother before her questioning got out of control. "I'm on my way to
Sonnyville with Luke. We had to leave a little earlier than
expected." She didn't want to frighten her mother, so she kept
silent about the reason for their leaving early.

"I know. Tristan came over and told your
father and I about the Council summoning you a day early. We didn't
even get to say goodbye." Kira smiled, silently thanking Tristan
for knowing her well enough to understand that she wouldn't want
her mother to worry. It also meant that he had made it and that the
vampires had fled after their car chase.

"Honestly, maybe it's better this way. Now we
won't have to go through that whole bawling in each other's arms
sort of goodbye." She heard a sniffle on the other end of the
receiver. "Mom, stop crying. Seriously, I'm only leaving for two
months. I'll be back to annoy you and Dad in no time."

"I know," she sniffled again. Mothers, Kira
sighed. "Your father wants to talk to you."

"Kira?"

She smiled at the deep rumble of her father's
voice. "Hi, Dad."

"Hi, honey. We're so happy you're all right.
Luke better be treating you like a lady." Kira rolled her eyes.

"Dad, relax. I'm staying with Luke and his
family, and my boyfriend is in Europe for the next two months. You
have nothing to worry about."

"Well, that's a father job, we—"

A high-pitched, barely understandable squeal
sounded through the phone, cutting her father off.

"Chloe!" Kira chirped, excited.

"Kira, where are you?"

Kira smirked. She could easily envision the
pout on her sister's face. "I had to go away for a little while,
but I'll be back soon."

"Can you make pancakes when you get
back?"

"Of course," Kira chuckled. Her sister would
miss her food more than she missed her.

"Yay! Here's Mommy."

"Call us when you land, okay sweetie?"

"Yes, Mom."

"We love you."

"I love you, too," Kira said and hung up the
phone. Maybe, two months away wouldn't be so bad. It would be an
adventure, like going to camp for a summer. She would come back
with enough stories to enthrall her sister and enough skills that
her mother might stop worrying a little bit. Maybe she would learn
more about who and what she was, and why the Council had decided to
keep her alive even though her life supposedly meant the end of the
modern world.

And maybe, Kira thought as she pulled the
chain holding her locket and ring out from underneath her shirt,
maybe she would come back with a few more memories of her real
parents. Maybe, she finally let herself dream, she would come back
with her real mother.

Kira leaned her head against the window and
watched the sky change with the rising sun. At first, the deep
ebony sky lightened to a vivid indigo, slowly turning from a dark
violet to a light pink, until wispy tendrils of cerulean poked
through the painterly scene. Even the clouds seemed fluffier than
usual.

Before long, Kira dozed off. She didn't
notice as the bright sun scattered the clouds and enlivened the
ground below. She didn't notice the warm glow on her cheeks and how
her skin naturally reacted to the brilliant rays. She didn't even
notice when the plane started to descend on the sleepy town below,
one that had just started buzzing with the morning's events.

She did notice when Luke lightly touched her
shoulder and shook her awake.

"Kira," he whispered, his lips slightly
closer to her ear than necessary. In her groggy state, she welcomed
the warmth of his breath. "Kira, we're here."

Her eyes shot open.

Chapter
Three

Kira jerked awake and moved to stand up,
promptly smacking her forehead against Luke's chin.

"Ow." Kira brought her hand to her head,
rubbing the now aching spot. "Luke, there is this little thing
called personal space..." He cupped his jaw, moving it around to
fix the slight displacement Kira had caused.

"Hey, I was just trying to wake you up. How
was I supposed to know you'd shoot up like the Energizer
Bunny?"

Kira ignored him and stood up gently this
time, easing out of her seat. She grabbed her things and followed
Luke off the plane, realizing the Councilman had already left the
two of them alone.

The first thing Kira noticed when she exited
was that it was hot, scorching hot. Almost instantly a slight sweat
rose on her arms. There was no breeze, just the heaviness of still
air letting the sun bake her.

After she let the temperature go, Kira looked
around at the small landing strip. The airport was almost
nonexistent. There was only one runway, one building and two of
these small planes resting in the open air. And then she noticed
the car that was waiting a few yards away. She assumed it was the
one that would take her and Luke to Sonnyville, and started walking
over.

"Are you excited to be home?" Kira asked when
Luke sat beside her in the backseat and closed the door.

"More than you know," he replied and Kira
could almost feel his excitement sizzle in the air.