I was thankful that he didn’t mention my swollen face, but then, Tommy was a Brocken vampire, a fighter, so he was probably used to seeing injuries among his friends.
“I need to ask for a favor,” I said, deciding to cut to the chase.
He smiled that easy smile of his. “Ah, and here I thought you just wanted to see me.” He paused, and then asked, “What do you need?”
I swallowed hard. “Your car.”
To my astonishment, he just raised both eyebrows and said, “Okay, for how long?”
“I don’t know. A couple of days… or maybe a couple of months.” He laughed at that. “Okay, do I get to know where you will be taking it for a couple of months?’
I shook my head. “No.”
He shook his head in return and got up, disappearing into the other room. When he returned, he held out a set of keys to me. Then, he asked, “Do you have money?” I had about four hundred dollars saved up from my school allowance. “Some,” I said.
He sighed and reached into the pocket of his slacks. Pulling out his wallet, he handed me a stack of hundred dollar bills. “Here,” he said, pushing the bills into my hands.
I stood there in shock. I hadn’t even really expected him to say yes about the car.
“Um, thank you…. Why are you so willing to help me, Tommy? You don’t even know what I’m going to do.”
He shrugged. “You’re my friend, Alexa. And you usually only do things that are meant to help other people, so why wouldn’t I help you?” He paused and that sly grin appeared on his lips. “Besides, you know how I feel about you.”
I smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you so much, Tommy. I owe you big time, and I won’t forget that.”
He smiled again and pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me. “Just try to bring the Mercedes back in one piece and we’ll call it even.” I laughed. “I’ll do my best.”
I turned to go, but he called out to me. “Don’t you want to know where the exit is that will lead you to a road through the forest?”
I turned back and smiled. “Why, yes. Yes, I do.”
Chapter 70
I drove through the streets of Two Rivers and headed to the exit in the wall that Tommy had told me about. The city was so quiet this time in the morning, and I glanced around me, taking time to acknowledge how beautiful the place really was. Each structure was unique, and every bit of lawn was manicured to perfection. The flowers and cherry blossom trees seemed to be bidding me farewell with their bright faces turned up to the sun.
Then I had to slam on the brakes because there was someone standing right out in the middle of the street.
Well, not someone. It was Kayden.
He was staring right through the windshield at me, like he’d been waiting for me to come. When he walked around the side of the car and waited for me to unlock the door, I considered what to do. I could hit the gas and take off, denying him the chance to say whatever he was waiting to tell me. Or, I could unlock the door and hear what he had to say.
In the end, I unlocked the door. As much as I was still hurt by what he’d done to me, if I was being honest, I didn’t really want to leave without giving him a chance to explain himself.
When he opened the door, though, he just folded himself into the passenger seat and sat staring straight ahead. I waited for several moments before saying, “What?” He didn’t look at me, he just said, “Let’s go.”
I shook my head in confusion. “We’re not going anywhere.” Kayden looked at me then, and the apology that was in his eyes last night was still present this morning. To my astonishment, he said, “You don’t want to go find your mother?” I gaped. “What are you talking about?”
He gave me a look that said that was a stupid question. With a sigh, he said,
“We’ve shared blood, Alexa, and whether you want to accept it or not, you’re my Warrior. I felt the summons to the gate last night, just as you did.”
I hated that his words made my heart flutter; his Warrior. I rubbed my face with my hands. This could not be happening. “Then, you saw everything?” He nodded. “And I am not going to let you do this on your own, so you can either let me come with you, or you can make things difficult and make me follow you the whole way.” I stared straight out the windshield. “Get out, Kayden.”
He sat there for so long I almost thought I would have to tell him again, but finally, he opened the door, and stepped back out into the street. As I started forward again, I snuck a glance at him in the rearview mirror. He was still standing there, just staring at the back of Tommy’s car as I increased the distance between us. As I rounded a corner, out of sight at last, I shoved thoughts of Kayden to the back of my head, right along with everyone else.
Chapter 71
When I made it to the gate, I found that it was guarded. I’m not sure why I hadn’t expected this, but I suddenly hoped that there wasn’t some rule that prevented citizens from leaving Two Rivers whenever they felt like it. If so, I might not be going anywhere. I could always try and knock the guard unconscious, but then I would have a short time period in which I would have to figure out how to get the gate to lower across the river so I could exit.
I pulled up to the gate and stopped at the small guard station that was positioned to the side of it. When I rolled down my window, I saw that it was Gavin who was on post. I wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not.
“Giving up already, Warrior?”
I shook my head. “I don’t give up on anything that’s important… but I need you to lower the gate for me, I have some things I have to go take care of.” I hoped that sounded convincing.
To my surprise, Gavin winked. “Will you be coming back?”
“If I’m lucky.”
“Then, good luck, Warrior. I look forward to your return.” Then, he lowered the gate.
Before I could pull forward, he said, “Don’t forget what you saw here, Alexa.” At hearing my name, I smiled, though I’m sure there was more sadness in it than anything else. “I won’t forget what I left here.”
Gavin gave me a genuine smile then, and though it was a little lopsided due to the scar that ran down the side of his face, it was the first real smile I’d seen from anyone in what seemed like weeks.
So, I left. I left behind everyone. Everyone I loved and cared about to go on what might be a suicide mission. It had occurred to me though, that if my Mother really was alive and at Dangeon, then the Queen had deliberately lied to me about her death. This made me wonder what else was a lie at Two Rivers. I could only hope that I was the one who would be in danger by leaving, not the people I’d left behind.
The End…. For now.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
; Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71