Forever and Beyond (10 page)

At the first light of dawn, Aidan and Kieran prepared to meet with the Council. It was a
brethren thing
, as he called it, meaning we had around twenty to thirty men gathered in our living room and they were talking about battles, allegiances, and yet more battles with lots of blood. I tried to blend in with the furniture as I stifled a yawn, bored out of my mind. Logan—dressed in dark clothes with what looked like leather armor adorning his broad chest—shot me a wide smile and I inched closer to exchange a few words with me.

“You’re beauty personified. It’s only fitting that you share a bond with our leader,” Logan said, planting a soft kiss on my hand, sending my cheeks on fire. The guy sure knew how to flatter a woman.

“Thank you.”

His dark eyes glittered for a moment. “I hope I’ll meet my bonded mate one day and that she’ll be as good to me as you are to Aidan.”

“You will,” I whispered, smiling. “So, how old are you? Please excuse my curiosity, but I don’t know much about you or warlocks in general.”

He laughed. “Older than you think. See, we’re not immortal like vampires, but the magic in our veins keeps us young and healthy for a long time. We live much longer than mortals…unless we’re killed.”

“Interesting,” I said, sensing Logan was the right guy to get lots of information from. Aidan signaled the others to prepare for leaving, so I moved on to the next question burning on my tongue. “What is this brethren thing?”

Logan looked at Aidan, as though to get his approval. When he nodded, Logan turned back to me. “We’re warriors who had the privilege to fight alongside Aidan. You could say that he saved our lives at one point or another, meaning our loyalty is bound to him by blood.”

I had a bit of trouble to wrap my head around the fighting part. Of course I knew Aidan had a past
before
I came along, but hearing it from someone who seemed to know him for ages, I couldn’t help but feel I didn’t know Aidan as well as I always thought I did.

“Basically, what you’re saying is that you’re ready to stand by him in the upcoming war,” I said.

He inclined his head and grimaced. “Not quite. You see, our loyalty is also bound to
Morganefaire
through the oath we made when joining the Night Guard, which makes this situation hard on us. We’ll do our best to persuade the Council Aidan’s the right person to support, but if the decision is made against him, then we’ll be forced to take sides.” He inched closer to whisper in my ear, “I know I’ll serve Aidan, but I can’t speak for the others.”

I nodded gravely. “The more reason to work on our persuasion skills then.”

Logan smiled and bowed his head. “It’s not just about getting permission to fight beside him, but to be able to use our warlock blood as a weapon. Ever since it was abused hundreds of years ago, the practice has been punished with death. We want it back.”

“Heard anything interesting?” Aidan said, appearing behind me. I nodded and let him wrap his arms around me to draw me close, his lips capturing my mouth in a tender kiss.

“It’s all way more complicated than I thought,” I whispered.

“Hopefully not for much longer.” He let go of me with a disappointed sigh. “We expect the Council to come to a decision soon. Want to join us?”

I shook my head. “Thanks but I think I’ll be staying here.” I didn’t want to mention in front of Logan that I intended to spend more time with Julie in order to find out more about the Night Guard.

Aidan’s mouth locked on mine again and for a moment my mind turned blank from the tingling sensation his lips sent through my body. I rose on my toes to savor the sensation of his skin against mine.

“I’ll try to be back soon,” he whispered. I nodded and watched the procession leave.

***

The morning was still young, the green leaves covered in dew, as I made myself a cup of steaming coffee and ventured into the backyard in search of Julie. Even though I couldn’t drink it, I loved the scent of it. Besides, the heat emitted by the hot liquid made my skin tingle and reminded me of the life I once led. I didn’t want to lose that connection so I had made it a habit to brew a cup every morning and carry it around like I did when I was mortal.

I found Julie under a weeping willow with branches so low, they looked like hugging arms. She hovered a few inches above the ground. Around her, the black fog had spread like a macabre blanket that stood in contrast with her white complexion. The way her head bobbed to the left as she inspected a flower, lost in thought, made her look so alive I was almost fooled for a second. Then I remembered she was dead. She would never live again.

In terms of gossip
Morganefaire
couldn’t be much different from other towns. Taking a deep breath, I scanned the area to make sure no one was watching us and it wouldn’t look like I was talking into thin air, then inched closer, my feet pounding the grass to announce my presence. Julie only raised her head when I was a step or two away.

“Hey,” she said flatly.

“I thought I might find you here.” My eyes avoided her prodding gaze as I lowered myself onto the damp lawn and began picking at the dark green leaves of the weeping willow.

“This is my favorite tree in the world because it’s so sad,” Julie said. “It suits the mood in
Morganefaire
very well.” Her expression changed from melancholy to despair. She was slowly beginning to understand the finiteness of her situation. I wanted to change the subject but she spoke first. “Once I realized I’d never know who my real family was, I wanted to get away from here as fast as I could and never look back. Take a trip around the world, maybe even find the perfect spot where I might just stay for a while, you know, grow roots.” She shrugged and smiled bitterly. “I hope the afterlife makes up for it because it sure sucks to be dead.”

I returned her smile but kept quiet. How could I tell her that the Otherworld was nothing but a constant loop of reliving your life’s mistakes over and over again, until you could finally move into the light where there would be…nothing. No people, no new experiences, nothing but floating in a sense of wellbeing and happiness. Cass said that’s what all souls looked forward to, but I doubted Julie, with her hunger for life and experiences, would be happy to hear that. I remained silent as I waited for her to resume the conversation.

“Last night when you were talking about what could’ve happened to me got me thinking.” She turned to face me, her shimmering hazel eyes burning a hole in my heart. “You asked if I had any enemies, and as far as I know I don’t have any because I never hurt anyone. But what if there was someone who hated me?”

I shook my head and reached out to grab her arm when I realized I’d most likely pass through her and upset her even more. So I drew back slowly. Sensing what I was about to do, she inched closer to me and placed her hand an inch away from mine. I stared at her porcelain skin and the soft, white glow it seemed to radiate.

“It was just a theory,” I said looking up. “We’re drawing at straws here.”

She sighed. “But, as things stand, I think I’ll trust your boyfriend’s judgment. If he thinks something’s wrong, then there probably is.”

“Aidan’s usually right,” I said, my throat constricting at the sound of his name. Love washed over me and for a moment I saw his picture before my open eyes. So beautiful. So majestic. So near and yet so far away. Our bond made me ache for him whenever he wasn’t around; made me miss his touch even though I knew I’d see him soon; made it hard to focus on anything but him.

“I’ve heard stories about him. He’s dangerous,” Julie said.

Aidan’s picture dissipated. I frowned and turned back to her. “Really? What stories?”

“That he’s a killer. That he can take one’s heart out with a flick of his hand.”

I smiled. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it?”

Her gaze met mine. For a moment I wasn’t sure whether she was joking or dead serious, and then her lips curled into a smile. “They’re just stories made up by superstitious idiots. Obviously, I don’t believe a word. But the other one—”

“Kieran,” I offered.

“Kieran.” She rolled the name on her tongue. “He looks like he could kill with a single kiss. You should hook me up with him.”

I laughed, until her grave expression told me she wasn’t kidding this time. My laughter died in my throat. “He has a girlfriend,” I muttered. It wasn’t even a lie. He was sort of dating someone, or so Aidan said. I had yet to hear Kieran utter those words.

“So?” Julie shrugged. “I don’t see a ring on his finger. Until I see a ring, he’s game.” I snorted. The girl couldn’t be serious. She must’ve forgotten one thing: she was dead. Julie continued, not in the least bothered. “Besides, he didn’t know me when he met her, so he couldn’t compare us to see he and I would’ve been a match made in heaven. I think if he did, he would’ve chosen me.”

I hurried to change the subject. “So you wanted to join the Night Guard, huh? Why?”

“Because it’s the only way to get out of
Morganefaire
.”

“Right.” I nodded and tapped my fingers against my thigh, gathering my thoughts. I had no idea where to even begin this investigation. For all I knew, there could be a clue in everything Julie shared with me, or it could all be random, irrelevant small talk. Right now, I was ready to bet my non-existent wages on the latter. “We met one of the Night Guard guys in the Council hall when he carried—” your body, I wanted to say but didn’t, “when he came to talk to us. His name was Iain. Do you know him?”

“I told you I know everybody,” Julie said proudly. “Iain was the one to recruit me.”

“Did any of your friends join?”

She shook her head. “He only asked me.”

My curiosity piqued, I made a mental note to tell Aidan, then moved on to my next question. “So he knocked at the door and told you about the Night Guard recruiting for the Blue Moon?”

She shook her head again. “Nope. I was at
Elyssa’s
, looking for some stuff, when I overheard her and Iain talking, so I asked whether they’d take on girls and he said they might. He said he’d put in a good word.” I nodded encouragingly. She moistened her lips in thought and continued. “A few days later, we met there and he said he got me an interview.”

“Who interviewed you?”

“One of the Council members, Logan,” Julie said. “A few days later, I started my training. The night before—” she waved her hand expressively “—you know, I met Iain at
Elyssa’s
and he told me I had passed.”

“You keep mentioning
Elyssa
,” I said. “Is she a friend?”

“She’s the owner of Bells, Books & Candles. It’s the dime store across the street from where I live. I can take you there if you want.”

“Maybe.” I looked at the sunless sky. The cool morning air had warmed up a bit, but it would be a while until the sun would peek from behind the rainclouds. I feared the sun as much as I feared being alone around mortals. At this point, I could no longer trust my vampire nature not to do what it wanted to do.
I was thankful Julie was a ghost. If I lost control, the worst that could happen was that I might attack and glide right through her. She was completely safe around me. “Yeah, I think we should go.”

“I loved hanging around that place for hours,” Julie said with such enthusiasm it was contagious. “I bet you’ve never seen anything like it. We should go now!” Her eyes sparkled as she jumped up from her sitting position and reached out for me. I raised my hand to touch hers. The electric jolt was different from the one I felt whenever Aidan and I touched, but by no means unpleasant. She seemed to feel it too for she pulled back, then reached out again, laughing. “How did you do that?”

“I didn’t. It must’ve been you.”

She laughed her crystalline laughter again. “Yeah, probably. Must be a ghost thing.” Her hand sliced right through me as she tried to grab my arm, sending another jolt through my body. If it upset her that she couldn’t hold onto me, she didn’t show it.

I followed her through the narrow streets, past cartwheels filled with fruit and vegetables, and market stands offering all kinds of merchandise, from garments to spices and used steel. Under a protective layer of clothes and with the sky clouded, the rays of sun didn’t get to me as much as usual so I could enjoy the new world all around me. Julie talked non-stop, pointing at this and that. She didn’t exaggerate when she claimed to know everyone. Throughout our little trip she not only recalled everyone’s name but also their profession and their relation to her. By the time we reached the south side of the city and turned into a narrow street off the main road, I could only marvel at Julie’s memory. I didn’t even realize she stopped talking until I had almost crossed the street. Frowning, I stopped and peered around me, wondering where Julie disappeared.

She lingered near a stall selling apples, hovering in mid-air as she pressed her nose against the fruit as though trying to smell it.

I ran back to her and greeted the owner—an old, sturdy woman with an infectious smile—then hissed, “What are you doing? Stop sniffing.”

“She sells twenty-five varieties. Take your pick,” Julie said.

“I wish I could.” I missed eating food so badly. Especially apple pie. Dallas and I used to pick apples from our own apple tree when we were kids, before he grew up and turned into an irritating moron. We’d grab as many as we could and then head home and watch my mother make pies and what else not. It was one of my favorite memories.