Blood and Guitars (29 page)

He reached into his black coat and produced a
medium sized envelope which he proceeded to tear open on one end.
He pulled from it an assortment of photos and offered two of them
to me. My stomach dropped when I caught sight of the image on the
first photo. It was of Trey and I standing near the back door of
The Waking Moon. I forced my expression to remain blank as I
flipped to the next photo. This one was a shot of Trey and I
standing outside of Ken’s studio. Chase was in the background of
the picture, too.

“I don’t understand the problem,” I said,
looking up from the pictures. “I was hired to do some art for this
band.” As I spoke, invisible tentacles of power were probing at my
mind but my mental defenses remained intact. I was grateful that
I’d fed before meeting Trey at the studio tonight. The fresh blood
coursed through my veins, enabling me to protect my mind better.
They may be the Synod, but I would not allow them to force their
way into my thoughts without a fight.

“I see.” Dalek said. He handed me several
more pictures. “Is this part of your business arrangement?”

I took the photos from his hand and felt my
stomach drop in horror as I studied the picture. It was of Trey and
I kissing at the VMA’s. In a panic, I flipped to the next photo and
found another of us outside the studio except that Trey and I were
kissing in this photo as well. It had been taken last night.

I swallowed and willed my heart not to race.
“Where did you get these?” Not that I expected to get a real
answer.

“We have limitless resources at our
disposal,” Bylun said. “Our source is not your concern.”

But the fact that these pictures existed
rattled me to the core. I knew I’d relaxed in my precautions lately
but I’d have known if a vampire had been tailing me. I wouldn’t
have missed something like that.

“The human is innocent,” I stated. My real
concern was for Trey and his safety. “He doesn’t know what I
am.”

Dalek leaned forward again. It was almost
impossible not to be intimidated. “Is that so?” He spoke slowly,
his eyes penetrating.

“Yes.” My voice was resolute.

“Are you willing to prove it?”

I could still feel the power buzzing around
my head, waiting for my defenses to drop just long enough to get
inside. I realized then that it was most likely Stanislav probing
at my thoughts. That would explain why he was so quiet, focusing
his efforts.

I opened my mouth to speak but paused,
deciding to act instead. In a very deliberate mental gesture, I
dissolved the protection around my mind and allowed Stanislav
inside. No one spoke. The other Elders seemed to understand what
was taking place. They waited patiently.

After what seemed like an hour but was
probably only a moment, the hum of Stanislav’s power retreated.
Instinctively, I threw the walls up around my mind again before
breathing a sigh of relief that it was over.

“She speaks the truth.” Stanislav looked at
me with intrigue. He seemed fascinated by what he’d gleamed from my
thoughts. I couldn’t blame him, really. Vampires didn’t usually
develop strong feelings for a human the way I had for Trey.

In contrast, Dalek appeared disappointed.
Bylun was almost impossible to read, and I wasn’t about to reach
out to his mind. My instincts told me that would almost certainly
be a suicidal move.

“What do we do with you now?” Dalek said in a
bored tone as if he’d suddenly lost all interest in the situation.
As I waited to hear my fate, I could only hope that he had.

“As I am sure you are aware, we cannot allow
a vampire to maintain this kind of intimate relationship with a
mortal.” As he spoke, Bylun’s voice strangely resembled that of my
junior high math teacher’s. “It puts our entire society at
risk.”

“I understand.” I met their gazes earnestly.
I did understand. I had known from the beginning how foolish it was
to continue to see Trey. What I hadn’t known was how hard it would
be to walk away from him in the end. Now all I could hope for was a
chance to do just that.

The Elders of the Synod exchanged brief
glances that led me to believe there was an inaudible conversation
taking place. Once again, I kept my power in check.

“You will fulfill your business commitments
and then cut all ties with the human and his associates.” Dalek’s
words were an order. “We are not without mercy, but we cannot allow
this relationship between you and the mortal to continue.”

I nodded. “I will do as you ask.”

Once more they exchanged meaningful looks.
When they turned to face me again, it was Bylun who spoke. “Do not
make us regret the decision to trust you.”

Again I nodded. Were they really going to let
me go with a slap on the wrist? I could hardly believe it, but
before I could doubt the reality of what was taking place, the car
pulled up to a curb and the Emissary who had been silent the entire
ride opened the door and held it for me.

“Thank you,” I said to the Elders, not
knowing what else would be appropriate to say. Then I stepped out
of the car, still clutching the pictures of Trey and I. The
Emissary disappeared back into the ominous limo and it pulled away,
disappearing around the corner. I turned to find that I was
standing just outside the front door of The Waking Moon.

I’d been dreading what I had to do next ever
since the Synod had dropped me off at The Waking Moon last night.
That feeling of dread had only worsened since Trey had called me
half an hour ago to see if he could come over. The anxiety brought
on by the thought of having to break up with Trey had plagued my
dreams all day. The only thing keeping me going was the fact that
Trey would be in danger if I didn’t do as the Synod had demanded. I
loved him, and for that reason I would let him go.

I was sitting in silence on my dark leather
couch when I heard his car pull up in the drive. Trey walked to the
front door and knocked three times in quick succession. I braced
myself with a deep breath and got to my feet, going to the door. I
opened it to see his lazy half-smile and those heartbreaking
ocean-blue eyes.

“Hey,” Trey said as he stepped inside. Then
his arms were around me and his lips came down on mine.

The kiss caught me off guard, and as a
result, so did the flood of emotions that accompanied it. He was
relieved to be holding me again, and it was easy to get caught up
in the moment and let myself feel the same way. Even with all the
lies that were circling back on me now, what I was experiencing in
that moment was the truth. My hand fell to its familiar resting
spot on Trey’s chest where I could feel every bound of his
heartbeat, exaggerated by my heightened sense of touch. I enjoyed
the rich sound of its beating and the way it thumped powerfully
against my palm. Then I remembered that the reason for my
fascination with his heartbeat was because it was so incredibly
different from my own. That thought brought me back to reality and
I pushed against his chest lightly until he pulled back, still
grinning, and gazed at me curiously.

“I missed you,” he said.

“Yeah, I kinda got that.” I forced a smile
back at him and then took his hand, leading him over to the
couch.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said as we sat
down. “Those guys last night had me a little freaked out. I was
relieved to get your text and know that you were safe.”

If only a creepy old rich man wanting some
unique art was really the biggest of my worries. “I told you not to
worry,” I said.

“Are you kidding?” Trey gave me an
exasperated look. “That’s like telling the mouse not to eat the
cheese.”

The smile that crossed my lips was genuine
now. Did he have to be so adorable all the time? How was that even
possible? This was going to be even harder than I’d thought. I
would have to make it quick like ripping off a Band-aid. That was
the only way I’d be able to keep my nerve and make it convincing. I
took a deep breath and for the first time I reached out to Trey’s
mind. It felt wrong for reasons I can’t even explain. In the
beginning, I’d resisted the urge to read his thoughts because it
was more fun to learn about him the hard way. Then, after a while,
the desire to read his mind had fizzled out completely. It probably
didn’t hurt that I got a glimpse of everything I needed to know
each time we kissed. That was also probably why Trey’s mind felt
familiar, despite the fact that I’d never reached into it with my
power before.

He didn’t suspect a thing. I was about to
completely blindside him, and there was no way to save him from the
pain.

Trey furrowed his brows together and gazed at
me expectantly. “You look like someone just kicked your puppy. Is …
is everything okay? What’s going on?”

“We need to talk,” I said, sobering up. He
sat back, the muscles in his shoulders tensing. “Trey, this isn’t
going to work,” I began, not knowing how else to say it. “We can’t
keep doing this.” It was the truth, and I hoped that by sticking to
the parts of the truth that I could tell him, I’d have a more
believable argument.

“Whoa, slow down.” Trey reached for my hand,
squeezing it gently. “What are you talking about?” I was aware of
his heart shifting into a higher gear, pumping harder at hearing my
words, but I couldn’t stop now. I had to say it for his sake. It
was time to get it all out.

“I’ve been selfish.” I cast my eyes to the
ground. The gravity of the situation was almost crushing. There was
no question what was at risk. “We can’t be together. What we’re
doing is dangerous.”

“You and I?” He let out a nervous laugh and
then realized I wasn’t joking. His eyes narrowed in confusion and
his shoulders tightened. He let out a long, exasperated sigh. “You
can’t be serious. What’s so dangerous about you and me?”

“Don’t you see?” I was pleading. I slid
closer to him and then regretted the move immediately. The scent of
him rushed over me and I could feel my resolve crumbling. I held my
breath for a second before I began again. “I’ve put you in danger.”
My words hung heavy in the air while Trey struggled to draw meaning
from them. He cast his eyes around the room, trying to avoid
looking at me as he processed what I was saying. I read the
frustration in his mind as he reached for the stack of mail on the
coffee table and pulled out the pictures Dalek had given me last
night as proof of my offense. I hadn’t meant to leave those lying
around only half-covered up but it was too late now.

“What are these?” he asked.

I sighed. “It doesn’t even matter.”

Trey’s thoughts stung my mind with perfect
clarity, flitting from one explanation to the next as he searched
for something that would make sense. What danger could we possibly
be in? Was my past something so horrific that I worried it might
threaten his reputation? His career? Was someone threatening me?
Trying to blackmail me? Trey couldn’t imagine anything I could say
that would change the way he felt about me. He would do whatever it
took to keep me in his life. Thankfully, he couldn’t imagine the
truth.

He gazed at me, his blue eyes dark and stormy
with worry. “Whatever it is, we’ll face it together. I don’t care
what anyone says. I won’t leave you.”

“You don’t understand,” I insisted, though my
voice was barely above a whisper. “This isn’t something as simple
as the media creating a scandal. The danger is real. I won’t be the
reason you get hurt.”

“Nobody is going to get hurt,” he insisted.
“I can protect you. Don’t you know that I have the means to-”

“You’d be safer if we’d never met. It’s my
fault. You have to stay away from me. Promise me.”

Trey shook his head and tossed the pictures
in the air, throwing his hands up. “I won’t.” I cast my eyes up at
him, at the tight set of his jaw, the raw determination in his
eyes. I’d never seen him like this. He took me by the shoulders and
moved forward until his face was only inches from mine. When he
spoke again, his voice was raw with emotion. “Do you have any idea
at all what you mean to me?”

My breath caught in my throat and I paused. I
knew exactly how he felt about me, and I had an undeniable reminder
every time we kissed. I had known this wasn’t going to be easy.
What I hadn’t expected was the overpowering desire to wrap my arms
around him and protect him from the dark and dangerous world I had
pulled him into. But I couldn’t do that. It was time to be mature,
to put my selfish wishes aside and give Trey the last thing I could
offer him: a chance at returning to his normal world and living out
the rest of his mortal life as the front man of Catalyst. The only
way to protect him now was to never see him again. And I would have
to make sure of that, because it was clear by the look on Trey’s
face that he wasn’t having it. So I did the only thing I could
think of. I picked up my keys and the wrapped package I had sitting
next to the couch and began walking. He followed closely behind me,
just as I knew he would.

“I’ll make sure the album art gets to Wes,” I
added. “You’ll have it by the end of the week.”

“Can’t we talk about this? Just tell me what
happened. Whatever it is that scared you, I can help.”

I kept on walking to the front door. I opened
it and he followed me out into the night. I locked the door and
turned to look him in the eye one last time. His beautiful eyes
were full of agony. He looked like his heart was breaking. I
couldn’t bare the sight of him like that.

“You’re really just going to walk away?”

“Goodbye.”

“Aurora, wait….”

I handed him the package and then walked to
the driveway. He followed me for a few steps more and then stopped.
I could tell from his thoughts that he was defeated. I’d blindsided
him all right. I just hoped it was enough to make him safe
again.