Awakened (18 page)

Deek and I had agreed on a price for his service—well, actually, I deposited one point
six million dollars into his account before I left to hunt, even though he flat-out
refused to accept it. “You’re acting like it’s the end, man. It’s just like old times.
We do the mission, and we come home.”

Even as I silently approached the resting stag, I knew I wouldn’t make it home the
same man, and if I did, it was only going to be a short stay. The thought of the deer’s
hot blood flowing into my mouth as his eyes dimmed excited me.

I didn’t know when I attacked it, but I was on the deer and drinking him, listening
to his heartbeat slow, sputter, and then stop before I knew what I was doing. I dropped
the stag, appalled by the heavy thud as he fell to the ground. The beast,
la Luxure
, smiled inside me, feeling warm and slaked.

I turned away from the deer as I pictured Ella laying there, her stark pale skin framed
in that blue-black mane and her emerald eyes listless and empty as she stared back
up at me—her face frozen forever in fear and confusion.

I leaned over and emptied my stomach. The blood came back up in large dark pools as
the beast begged and then demanded I take it back from the snow.

I pulled off my winter parka and shirt and shoes, leaving on only my pants, and I
began to run. The frigid air slapped my face, rousing me from the beast’s captivity.
I ran past houses filled with sounds of blood rushing through warm flesh and healthy
hearts, to the woods that surrounded Moose Nose. I needed to get away. I couldn’t
stay here with all the temptation and hunger.

“But where are you to go?” asked
la Luxure
inside me. “We are one, boy, and I will not be denied.” It sniggered and then settled,
allowing me a moment of peace, but I wasn’t fooled.

I continued to run past each house, each innocent victim, into the solidarity of the
woods. Soon, Deek would take me away, lock me up, and throw away the key. Soon.

“Soon I will have her,” crooned the beast in my belly. “Soon we will have her.”

“Over my dead body,” I whispered, quieting
la Luxure
.

It receded, lying in wait for them moment when I admitted that I, Kale, was already
gone, and all that remained was him, the beast,
la Luxure
de Sang.

Ella

“Are you ready for the next lesson?” Laurent’s smooth voice floated between us, soft
and calm, meant only for my ears, though Ana and Darke with their Chorý hearing stood
several feet away on the other side of the large marble floored room.

At first, I had been hesitant to learn anything from Laurent, but I quickly learned
that his first lesson would do me very well to absorb. He’d taught me how to focus
the energy from a memory and push it out, without leaving any sickness behind. I had
a memory of a man in a forest hunting a deer, and afterwards there was no pain, dizziness,
or nausea.

His gaze always held a glint of anger, but my progress seemed to please Laurent. His
gentle and rewarding behavior had me on edge. Around me, he often tried to seem calm
and unhurried, yet here we were at the crack of dawn, going over Laurent’s lessons.

For the past two days, Laurent had brought me to this room where the windows were
wall to ceiling and at least ten feet tall. The floor was some Italian marble that
I had face-planted into a few times, prompting Laurent’s growls of displeasure. Only
yesterday was I able to do each task he asked of me. At times it seemed impossible
to concentrate on what Laurent wanted while wondering where Kale was and if he would
be able to find me, but fear of upsetting Laurent pushed me to get the task done.

“Let’s see what you remember, shall we?” Laurent pulled an antique sepia picture from
his breast pocket. I couldn’t tell who the girl was, but I knew the shine of bright
emerald eyes and glossy black hair, even though I didn’t know who she was. I turned
away, unsure what Laurent meant by showing me a picture of someone so similar to me.

“Look at the picture, Ella,” Laurent demanded sharply, without a trace of the approval
it had yesterday.

My gaze snapped up to his face and not the picture.

“Do you fear this picture, Ella?” Laurent purred.

His question struck me in the chest. I feared to learn of the fate of the girl in
the picture. She looked oddly similar to me, and in the memories, I’d never seen Hélène,
just lived in her shoes for a few short moments.

“Look. At. The. Picture,” Laurent said again, through clenched teeth.

I tore my eyes from him and to the brown stained picture just as Laurent started to
move closer to me. “Who is it?”

“You tell me,” he demanded and forced the picture into my hand. “You think that you
know the truth about the past, that what the Council has told you is true, but you
are wrong, dear. There is so much more to the story,” Laurent claimed. “You don’t
know how I came to be, why you are what you are, or why the Council was truly created.”

“And let me guess: You’ll be the only one to tell me the truth?” I asked derisively.
Only after the words were out of my mouth did I remember whom I was talking to.

The muscle in Laurent’s jaw twitched, and his gaze went cold.

“Look, I—” I fidgeted nervously. My mouth was bound to get me in trouble.

“I understand, Ella. Trust me, I do,” he said coolly.

His calm tone surprised me. Laurent placed the photo in his pocket and moved closer
to me. His sharp woodsy scent assaulted my senses, and he pushed a lock of hair from
my face. I stiffened.

“You have been fed lies, from everyone who has informed you of our past how they saw
fit. I don’t expect you to believe me. Why would you? They have called me a liar and
a murderer and have only shown you a side of me that disappeared long ago, and that
is exactly why I have been training you.”

I looked up at him, my brow creased in confusion.

Laurent smirked. “Yes, Ella.” He chuckled low in his throat. “I have been preparing
you for the truth, but not from my mouth, as I knew you wouldn’t believe me.” He moved
in a lazy circle around me, stopping only once he stood in front of me again.

“How do you plan to tell me, then?” I asked hesitantly and backed away from him, crossing
my arms over my chest. The lace dress that Ana had laid out for me was incredibly
uncomfortable, but I resisted the urge to tug and scratch. He was so close that I
could smell his overwhelming sandalwood scent.

“I won’t reveal a thing. You will remember it on your own, a memory without the physical
pain and suffering. I only wish I could save you from the heartache of the truth that
will follow.”

I glanced to Darke in the corner, remembering the truth that he’d told me about my
parents. Was that what Laurent was talking about? Or was there more?

Laurent regarded me silently for a few moments. “I plan to call the memory of the
day that started all this. The day someone set into motion events that would dictate
my actions and yours, as well.” He abruptly turned away from me and headed over to
Darke. He shooed Ana away and whispered something to Darke. Darke nodded, glanced
at me, and left the room.

“Where are they going?” I asked quietly, my nerves on edge. Was Laurent speaking about
my parents? Did he know who had killed my parents that night? Though I’d believed
it was a hit-and-run driver, Darke had me believing otherwise. I had been too nervous
and swept up in my growing emotions for Kale those weeks ago when I wanted to ask
him to help me remember, and I now regretted that. I thought myself weak then, but
I was ready now.

“They are going to pack our things.”

“Pack our things? I placed my hand over my chest where I’d hid the necklace that Kale
had given me. “Why?”

Laurent moved in front of me gently placing his knuckles on my cheek. “Because, my
child, once you see the bittersweet truth, I believe you will willingly come with
me to France and aid me in my plans, which include the destruction of the Council
and their leader, Aleixandre.”

***

Darke

The Council had only a matter of hours before we were to leave, taking with us the
only clues as to where we would go. I had done my part to try to help them, though
now I wondered if there was more that I could have done or if maybe I was crazy for
my betrayal of Laurent.

“What’s wrong?” Anastaise placed her small hand in mine as we headed toward the main
house and to Ella’s quarters.

I hadn’t told her of my plans, in case Laurent uncovered my betrayal early. I moved
her hand from my tainted one and smiled at her. She was smarter than most gave her
credit for: she could see things that even Laurent’s trained eye seemed to miss.

“Nothing,” I lied. “I am just ready to return to Paris. This island reminds me of
a prison, shrouded in trees and useless animals. Once we return to France, Ella will
have a personal guard and I will be free of babysitting her.” I had hoped that this
wasn’t the case. I needed the Council to find Ella before we left, and there was no
way for me to know if they had found the clue I’d left behind. Ella was nineteen and
had another eight years of use with Laurent, if his anger didn’t get the best of him.

For a reason unknown to Laurent, the Eternal nomads who cursed an Arc with second
sight only allotted a certain amount of years that she could carry the burden. Maybe
it was to allow them normal lives, or maybe it was to cause their deaths. Who knew?
I would never know, because the nomads hadn’t been seen again since they’d granted
immortality to Aleixandre and his men, and I believed that they would probably never
be found again.

Ana’s frown deepened. “Is that all?” she asked skeptically as we entered Ella’s room.

I passed her to the closet and pulled down the Louis Vuitton travel case that had
been purchased for Ella. I set it on the bed. Anastaise pulled her gaze from me and
began to empty the armoire that held the dresses and gowns that Laurent bought to
spoil Ella before his sudden trip to Rome. I pulled out several garment bags and another
expensive suitcase and put them all out in front of Anastaise.

Her face was grim, and her eyes held a trace of doubt. I wasn’t sure what she thought
she knew, but it was time to ask.

“What are you truly asking me, Anastaise?” I asked, a bit rougher than I’d intended
to.

She stopped mid-step and turned to me, her expression pained. “I know that I am not
the Arc, and for some reason the sight skipped me and held to Hélène, but there are
times where I swear that my dreams aren’t dreams at all.”

“Excuse me?” I moved closer to her. She had never let me in on this distress before,
and I wondered how long she’d been experiencing it. Anastaise looked absently past
me, toward the wall. “I see things sometimes, horrible things.”

She stopped and took a shuddering breath. “Last night, I saw—I mean, I dreamed…” Ana
closed her eyes as if calling upon the dream again to prove it existed. “I saw your
death by your brother’s hand.” Her eyes popped open and searched mine.

I wasn’t surprised at all that I could die by my brother’s hands, but I was concerned
that maybe the sight hadn’t skipped Anastaise, after all. If Laurent ever learned
that she may have been gifted with second sight or anything similar, he would never
let her go, even if he managed to keep his Arc.

Anastaise moved toward me, never once taking her eyes off of mine, and I held her
unnaturally bright gaze with every bit a strength that I had.

“What have you done, Darke? I feel it,” she admitted somberly. “Whatever it is, it
happens tonight.”

I pulled her close and hugged her. I towered over her and needed to take a knee in
order to face her directly. “Sophie, when the time comes, you must do as Laurent says
and nothing else. Do not defend me in any way, do you understand?” I warned her.

It would be very important that Laurent never believed that Sophie knew anything of
my deceit. I never once believed that Sophie was the Arc, but I believed that her
dream was in fact a vision of some sort, and I could only believe that the Council
would come for Ella tonight. I only prayed that they would save Sophie and as well
as Ella. Ella was a good girl; she would fight for Sophie’s safety.

“But—”

I gave her a rough shake that rattled her teeth. “No ‘but’s, Sophie. When the time
comes, deny me and everything about me. If you are given the chance to follow Ella
to the Council, do it.”

Her eyes widened. We both knew that any Chorý within miles of a Council member was
a walking target, and asking Sophie to trust them may have put a larger target on
her back. I could only hope that the Council would see Sophie as more than a target,
after she helped Ella escape.

Ella

“Ready,” I confirmed as I lay on my back in the chaise lounge in the dusty room where
I’d first met Laurent. He towered over me, his large well-muscled frame draped in
a white silk collared shirt buttoned to his neck, black dress pants, and what looked
like riding boots. He’d changed for travel, and so had I at his request—well, at his
demand. I wore a long-sleeved cerulean silk dress and wheat-colored cardigan.

I could hardly understand why he’d called something so flimsy and light “travel clothes,”
but I was too anxious to question it. I would soon find out what really happened to
my parents. My stomach protested the idea, while my brain begged for the truth.

Laurent was silent for a bit. “Close your eyes, dear.” He said it almost too softly,
too gently for a man like him.

I hesitated, which earned me a warning glare. I closed my eyes and settled into the
lounge chair, waiting for his next instructions. I felt him kneel beside me, felt
his breath on my cheek, and his hand on my hand that rested on my stomach.

“You will remember for me,” he stated simply—not as a request, but as a soft demand.

My stomach fluttered, and my heartbeat increased. I took long calming breaths as another
darkness threatened to take hold.