The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) (113 page)

I tried to l
ook at things objectively, weigh
ing up the pro
s
and cons
,
but the deeper I looked the more I hated to admit things to myself...I was scared. I know it was an irrational response but I had grown so used to my new life here I was scared of going back to my past, even if I was only revisiting. Stupid as it was, I feared that I would be opening up old wounds by going back, while here it
didn’t even feel like I ever bl
ed. Here was new. Here was safe. Here was Draven. Ok so maybe it would be alright if he was with me, I mean he could play human for a week, couldn’t he? Thankfully the sound of Abba singing pulled me from my mental breakdown before a headache set in.

“What’s up me Bitch
!
” RJ’s “I’m from the hood” greeting made me giggle. I just hoped...no, no scrap that, more like prayed, that her next image change didn’t include gun tattoos, rap music and sayings like “Bust a cap in your arse”.

“Hey RJ, what you up to?”

“Not a whole lot which is why you’re going to help me
.
” She said sweetly
,
telling me instantly that this might not be something I would want to do. I loved RJ but
sweet
was not in her genetic makeup.

“Ok hit me with
i
t
,
” I pushed.

“I need you to come on a
private
mission with me
‘
cause if I don’t get out of the house now, my mum is going to make me babysit
the brat
and unless locking kids in cupboards is acceptable babysitting conduct, then I severely suggest we go shopping or God forbid even hiking! Anything just to get me out of this house in the next couple of minutes!” I was nearly in tears with laughter by the time she had finished her little rant and after some more over exaggerated comment about her younger sister and friends, we arranged for her to meet me here. She turned up in record time.

I ran down and was met by not one Thomas but two. Jack had also come with his sister. I gathered neither wanted to spend a Sunday babysitting. Jack nodded to me with his lips held firm in a thin line. We still hadn’t spoken
,
thanks to my cousin. God only knows the lies he had been told and it hurt me more than I let on that he had chosen her si
de over
mine. I guess I had to admit it to myself sometime,
that we weren’t as good
friends as I once thought. I shook myself from anymore of those thoughts before I started crying.

‘Cause
I missed him.

Hilary came down the stairs behind me and nearly knocked me out of the way to get to Jack.

“Excuse me
!
” She huffed as she squeezed past me like I had been a bus standing in her way.

“You
’
r
e
excused
,
” I said bitterly and walked towards RJ trying to ignore Jack’s glare.

“Come on RJ
,
let’s go before we miss the movie
,
” I said doing a vague impression of my happy self.

“Ooo
h,
a movie, which one?” Hilary squealed as she hung on to Jack’s arm like he was a prize doll.

“I don’t know what it’s called, the one where robots kill astronauts
.
” I said hoping that alone would put her off.

“Oh I saw the trailer for that one but it’s not out yet in the UK. What do you say Jack, are you game?” He looked down at me and then back at Hilary’s pleading eyes. Which pleading eyes would he choose? Please say no, please say no. I repeated hoping somehow it would enter his brain...it didn’t.

“Sure, why not. Killer robots sounds like a good way to spend a Sunday, very typical Sunday thing
,
” Jack joked, I was the only one not smiling.

“Well that’s great then! Isn’t that great RJ
?
” I said shooting her a look to say it was anything but!

“Y..eah
.
” She said drawing out the word and looking at me like I had gone a little crazy too. 

“Right then, well let
’
s all go together
,
” I said again wondering when it was my brain was going to shut down and stop talking.

“Right
,
off we go then
,
” I was still saying as we all piled into Jack’s
new car
. I was still muttering stupid obvious comments like this until Jack said something that made my brain click into panic mode.

“Hey, I know this sounds kind of bad cop movie but I think we
’
re being followed
.
”  Jack’s eyes kept wandering back to the rear view mirror with masked worry. Mine weren’t even trying to hide it, it was just there plain to see. I felt my throat starting to get tighter and my mind went into warp speed at all the different possibilities. The best one of course would be that it was no body but knowing that this was me we were talking about, it was probably t
he S
upernatural’s best assassin!

I kept looking behind us and seeing the black beast in the form of a four wheel drive behind us getting closer had me fidgeting nervously in my seat but it only seemed that me and Jack were the only ones taking any notice. Then we all screamed.

I thought I was going to see my heart in my lap as I looked down from when it burst from my chest! Thankfully I was in one piece...for now at least.

“Jeez Kizzy, are you going to answer that!” My cousin snapped impatiently. I didn’t miss the look Jack gave her and I couldn’t help but smile a little. It was like the tiniest beacon of hope that he wasn’t entirely lost to me. I was trying to retrieve my phone and lifting myself up to dig deeper into my jeans pocket when I noticed Jack’s gaze in the mirror. He looked at me like he was trying to communicate something secret to me but I was at a loss to know what. Instead I just frowned and tried to concentrate on shutting up Abba before my cousin decided to comment again.

“
Hell
o?” I said unsure of the number
and it
s caller.

“Keira
?
” A voice I knew better than any other sound on earth sounded strained in my ear.

“What’s wrong?” Was the question that first escaped my lips as Draven never rang me and I knew if he ever did, it wouldn’t be just for a quick chat, it would be important.

“Would you like to explain to me why it is that you are in a vehicle with
that
boy Jack
?” His question was thick with disapproval and filled my mind with a different kind of worry. However the only question that I thought to ask was a tactless one.

“How did you...?”

“You are being followed
,
Keira
.
” He said as though utterly obvious.
Ah...  that would be Ragnar
.

“So...”
h
e prompted as I went silent.

“Soo, I’m off to watch a movie with RJ, Hilary and
Jack
.
” I said making sure he understood the way I said Jack to emphasize that he wasn’t the only one and this was so not a date! Although it was nice to know he still got jealous. Childish I know but what could I say, I just couldn’t help myself.

“A movie
?
” He breathed out in relief and I smiled earning a hatful look in the mirror from Hilary. My smile deepened.

“Yes, something about killer robots in space so it should be very educational
.
” I giggled at my own joke and Draven laughed his deep throaty la
ugh making my legs turn to jelly
.

“Well now
,
that does sound terrifying, but pray tell me, who will you be sitting next to for moral support?” Although his voice was teasing I could tell he was desperate to hear it would be RJ, my cousin, a stranger, anyone but Jack! I laughed again.

“Female” I answered not wanting to say any names out loud. I could now hear him grinning.

“So I will see you later Dra...Dominic
.
” I nearly always slipped up on saying his name and whenever I did manage to say it, it never felt right coming from me. Like a false meaning. However he didn’t seem to think as I did.

“I have never loved the sound of my name before I heard it
said
from your lips
.
” I knew I was now blushing because RJ had rolled her eyes at me. However it didn’t last long as my cousin decided now was the time to open her big gob!

“Oh Kizzy, I forgot to ask you, did I give you those plane tickets home your mum gave me...oops are you still on the phone, never mind, we’ll talk about
our
trip home for Christmas later
.
” Only three words came to mind at precisely that moment.

“What a Bitch!” I screamed in my head but it was soon drowned out by the profound growl that came from the other end of the phone. Ok so now I was in trouble and Hilary knew it!
Hell,
she had planned it, executed it, counted on it and accomplished it. When she was standing behind the kitchen door this morning, I now knew what she had been listening too and as a result, where I had three words, Draven now only had one.

“Explain
!
” His voice was dry and devoid of feeling which made me gulp. It took me a few moments to try and figure out how exactly to deal with this. So I decided the best option was to play it down...way, way down.

“Oh, it’s nothing really
,” I said in a
flighty way.

“Kizzy, I don’t think your mum would be too pleased to hear you calling a family Christmas together nothing, she would be crushed!” Hilary said enlightening us all to her feelings that were completely false. She didn’t care two craps about my mother’s feeling
s
, what she did care about, what she lived for, is making my life as miserable as possible and at this moment she was doing one heck of a job!

“
Keira
!
” Draven said my name as a warning.

“Look, I’ll explain later
,
” I whispered gently trying to get him to calm down.

“You mean you haven’t told him yet, you’ve known for weeks
!
” At that point I had lost my patience with my destructive cousin and I couldn’t stop my reflex motion in kicking the back of her chair.
Hard.

“Ouch...excuse me
!
” She moaned.

“Oh sorry there, did that hurt?” I asked feeling both childish and triumphant at the same time.

“No it didn’t
,
” Hilary huffed and crossed her arms looking like the victim here and
I couldn’t help but say “Pity” u
nder my breath which only Draven heard.

“It is indeed, such a pity tha
t you didn’t explain these plan
s of yours to me sooner! I will let you go now, but Keira, you and I are going to have a little chat later
.
” Draven sounded utterly hacked off and in some ways I couldn’t blame him. I mean
,
I had so many opportunities to tell him but every time I chicken
ed
out. He even asked me once what I usually did at Christmas.

It was one of those blissful mornings when we lay in bed together, entwined limbs and softly spoken words. He had asked me questions about
my childhood and about holidays I had
had, places in the world I had seen and where I would like to go. All these had been easy to answer but when the conversation turned to my weeks off college I had known all along that everyone but Draven expected me to be going home to England for the holidays.

“I will see you later then
.
” I said deflated and for once, not looking forward to that later. I don’t think he actually said goodbye but only repeated “Later” And then hung up. The car was filled with an awkward silence which I was perf
ectly happy with enduring given
the mood I was now in.

“I guess he wasn’t happy about hearing that news
.
” RJ stated the obvious and I had to drag my glare away from the back of Hilary’s head to respond.

“Something like that
.
” I muttered.

“Well it wasn’t my fault, you should be more honest with your boyfriends, shouldn’t she Jack?” Hilary really didn’t have a limit on the bitch ’o’ meter, it just kept getting higher and higher, until one day, my guess is that someone will kill her and her meter will be no more. I was still holding out for that day. Ok
,
so I wasn’t really, I wouldn’t actually want someone to murder my cousin but I could settle for a damn good arse kicking!