Purpose (12 page)

She took a deep breath. “The Daemoni are in
an uproar and some of them are out of control. We don’t know the
full reasoning, but part of it has to do with your last book.”

“
What?
What does my book have anything
to do…?” My voice trailed off as the vampire dreams flashed through
my mind.

“Honey, your books have to do with a lot of
things. I don’t have time to explain it all now, but suffice it to
say that not all you’ve been writing is fiction.”

The phone shook in my hand and I nearly
dropped it with shock. “What does
that
mean?”

She sighed heavily. “The characters, Alexis.
You know these creatures because of who you are, a connection you
have. They’re not myths.”

I couldn’t say anything at first. I felt as
if the wind had been knocked out of me.

“Mom…you’re saying they’re…they’re
real
? Vampires and witches and wizards and
werewolves…they’re all
real
?” I began to wonder if I was
really having this conversation or if I had gone completely off the
deep end. Either option was downright frightening.

“I really don’t have time to explain right
now, but a short answer is yes, they’re real. Demons take many
shapes and forms.”

I sat there with my mouth open, trying to
process and comprehend. “But…what…why…
how
?”

“Daemoni, Alexis. That’s what the Daemoni
are. Some are like us—closer to human than anything else—but most
are the same types of creatures you write about.”

My breath caught. The question came out in a
whisper. “The vampire in my room…are you saying
he
was real,
too?”

Owen whipped his head at me, a strange look
on his face.

“Yes, honey,” Mom said. “That’s why Owen came
the next day—to shield the house.”

I swallowed hard as I remembered the vampire
and thinking I was only dreaming.

“And in the hotel room…?” My voice trailed
off. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

“I knew it,” Owen muttered. I stared at him,
my eyes bugging.

“Hold on, Mom,” I said distantly as I held
the phone away from my head. “Owen…the other night in Key West…were
you in my hotel room?”

“Uh, yeah, I sensed Daemoni. Remember?”

“Holy hell, that was
real
?!”

My heart skipped erratically. I heard Mom
yelling my name in the phone.

“Mom, what the hell is going on? There was a
vampire
in my room!
Twice!
”

“I know, honey. I—”

“You
know
? Why didn’t you say
anything?”

“I didn’t want to frighten you and you were
protected—”

“Protected?! A vampire—Daemoni—was in my
room! How is that being protected?”

Owen answered, sounding defensive. “It’s kind
of hard protecting you in a place like Key West, with Daemoni
everywhere. It’s too crowded to put a shield up and useless anyway
when the enemy is already inside. I came as soon as I sensed him
near you.”

Mom must have heard him. She added, “Owen
said you were fine. Just tired and groggy—”

“Because I thought it was a dream, Mother. I
didn’t know there were real, live vampires roaming around! You
should have said something!”

“We couldn’t…I couldn’t…,” Mom stammered. I
could hear her take a breath and when she spoke again, she sounded
calmer. More like her usual, unshakable self. “I can’t get into it
right now. I really need to get going. I’m trying to get Dorian
packed—”

“Dorian
packed
?
Where are you
taking him?
”

“That’s why I called. We have to leave for
safety. The Daemoni claim they have Provocation because the books
are exposing them. I don’t think that’s the whole reason for their
upheaval, but Dorian and I need to get out of here. They’ve given
permission for attacks on
all
of us.”

“Oh, no. Not my baby!”

He was our youngest generation now. I didn’t
know if that meant the same thing as it did for a daughter, but I
couldn’t imagine why the Daemoni
wouldn’t
target him. I
paced the balcony. I felt so far away from him. And so helpless.
How could I leave him? What had I been thinking?!

“He’ll be okay, Alexis. Just take care of
yourself. Owen will stay with you and I’ll be there as soon as I
can.”

“Please, Mom,
please
don’t let
anything happen to Dorian. I couldn’t…” The thought of losing him,
too, was too much. My shattered heart just wouldn’t be able to take
it.

“I can take care of this, Alexis, but I
really need to go. I’ll see you in a few days. Stay safe until
then, okay? Promise me?”

“
You
promise to take care of my
baby!”

“I promise, Alexis. He’ll be well protected.
Just hurry up and get that book done.”

“
What?
You still want me to
finish
it? That’s exactly what the problem is!”

Her voice remained steady, yet hurried. “You
have to, honey. It’s very important that you do. Just trust me.
This has been the plan all along.”

“
Mom
…”

“I can’t explain right now. I need to
go.”

The safety of my son outweighed my need for
answers…for now. I let her go, setting the phone down in disbelief.
I took a deep breath to calm myself from hysteria to mere panic
before whirling on Owen.

“
Explain
,” I demanded.

He grimaced. “I can’t. I don’t have the
authority.”

“
Owen!
You can’t do this to me!”

“All I can say is the council planned all of
this. I don’t think they expected this kind of reaction from the
Daemoni, but we’re sure there’s more to their anger than the
books.”

“They let me write—
encouraged
me to
write—when they knew my stories exposed
secrets
?”

“The benefits outweighed the risks. But
really, Alexis, I can’t say any more than that.” He looked me in
the eye. “Just know you can trust the Amadis. We
always
win.”

I stared at him with wide eyes, my mouth
open.
What the…? Who did he…? How…?
I could barely form
coherent thoughts. When I finally could, I made my words slow, my
voice low. “We
always
win? You’re telling
me
we
always
win
?”

He looked away from me, not answering. His
jaw muscle twitched.

“I know firsthand we don’t
always
win,
Owen. In fact, I think I’ve
lost
nearly
everything
!”
My voice rose in volume and octaves, barely recognizable as the
last words came out in a shriek.

He finally looked at me, his sapphire eyes
intense. “I was there, Alexis. Don’t forget that. I was there,
right in the middle of it all. I
know
. But in the end, we
do
always win.”

“
Get out!
Get the hell out of my
house!” I yelled. I looked around wildly for something to throw at
him. Something that would hurt as much as he’d just hurt me. I
picked up a chair but he was already gone.

I paced the house angrily while trying to
keep myself under control. I really didn’t want to destroy
anything. It was all too precious to me. I pounded on the granite
countertops, thinking they were sturdy enough to take my rage. I
added a crack to the one left so long ago.
Damn it!

Questions flew through my head and I had no
one to answer. The only one close by said he couldn’t tell me. And
I’d just kicked him out of the house anyway.
For good
reason!
But pacing and thinking my own thoughts—probably
throwing things way out of proportion from my ignorance—didn’t
help.

“Owen!” I finally yelled outside. I couldn’t
take it any longer. He quickly appeared at the bottom of the steps.
“You
are
going to give me answers.
I
can give you
authority, can’t I?”

His face twisted in a grimace. “Not really.
Especially while you’re still…before the
Ang’dora
. But I
talked to Rina and Solomon. Ask me questions and I’ll answer what I
can.”

I gave him a nasty look, but took what I
could get. I let him on the balcony and we sat across from each
other at the table.

I leaned in and looked him in the eye. “Why
hasn’t anyone said anything before? About the truth of my
books?”

He nodded slightly. “If you’d known the
creatures were real, you wouldn’t have accomplished what you did.
There’s a purpose for it all, Alexis. I can’t tell you that
purpose, but Rina or Sophia will soon. Just know it’s a
good
purpose. We’re
good
, Alexis.”

“So even though it’s putting everyone’s lives
in danger, they want me to
finish
it? I just don’t
understand.”

He pushed his hand through his hair and
squinted his eyes, seeming to organize his thoughts. “The Daemoni
are throwing a fit, but we really think they’re using the books as
an excuse to push their limits. They do that sometimes and right
now they’re upset about something. We just don’t know what yet. So
they’re using the books as a way to get something they want.”

“And would that ‘something’ they want
possibly be me?”

He cringed. “Probably.”

I inhaled deeply as I let my mind process the
meaning.
I
was the one they wanted more than anything. They
probably wanted their matched set. But it was
me
, not Mom or
Dorian, that they were truly after now. I let out the air, feeling
almost relieved.

“Is that why I’m left here alone? I mean, no
one is taking me to safety. Is it because I’ll put them in
danger?”

“First of all, as long as you stay on this
property, you
are
safe. It’s protected just as well as any
safe house. But, yes, it’s better you’re kept away from the others.
At least for now.”

My brows furrowed. “What does that mean? At
least for now?”

He answered with his own question. “You’ve
noticed how you’re changing recently?”

“Who couldn’t notice? I’m a mess.”

“I’m talking about the physical changes. The
running and swimming, how your body’s changing, you’re looking
younger…I mean, you looked terrible a week ago.”

I threw him a hateful look.

“Just keeping it real.”

“Sorry. You’re right. Are the changes really
that noticeable to you, too?”

He nodded. “Part of it—maybe a lot of it—is
because you
are
changing. Actually changing over. The
Ang’dora
.”

I stared at him.
I’d been right? It
is
the Ang’dora?
I dared to hope it explained everything I’d
been going through this past week—that I hadn’t really been as
mentally unstable as I’d feared, but that the changes caused the
havoc.

“That’s what Sophia thinks, anyway,” Owen
added quickly. “Everyone says it’s too early, but Sophia and I have
seen you. And if it
is
the
Ang’dora
, well, there are
some uncertainties….”

I nodded with understanding. They weren’t
quite positive the Amadis power could conquer my Daemoni blood. I
could be just as much a danger to them as any of the predators out
there looking for their opportunity to attack. The sense of relief
that there was a reason for the heightened insanity was quickly
overshadowed by the memory of Evil Alexis—that internal voice, like
I’d never heard it until recently.

“I see,” I said quietly, falling back into
the chair. “So you’re not just here to protect me. You’re also here
to kill me, if necessary.”

His eyes widened with horror. “Alexis, I
could
never
…”

I leaned forward again and looked him
directly in the eye. “You have to, Owen. You can’t let me hurt
anyone.”

“But we only kill if absolutely necessary.
That’s part of being Amadis. Every soul can be saved.”

“Rina told me they would’ve killed me when I
was a baby if they thought the Daemoni blood would overpower.”

“Only if there’d been no hope.”

“You can’t let me hurt anyone,” I
repeated.

The corners of his mouth twitched, as if he
fought a smile. “Except Daemoni.”

“Right.” I sighed.

I rose from the chair and walked over to the
railing, looking across the yard and over the water. I prayed none
of this became an issue, but knew the truth in it better than
anyone. No one else knew about the evil already trying to brandish
its ugly self inside me. I realized then I had to do what I could
for the Amadis, even when it made no sense to me now. I had to
trust them. Although I knew we didn’t
always
win.

“Thanks, Owen.”

“I’m here for you, no matter what.” He stood
right behind me and wrapped his arms around me, strong and warm. I
pulled on the Amadis power emanating from his body, absorbing it
into my own. His power didn’t feel strong, not like Rina’s or Mom’s
or even Stefan’s had been, but it helped. “And I’m sorry if what I
said hurt you. You know…he was my best friend. I miss him,
too.”

I stiffened in his arms. We had never,
ever
discussed Tristan and that horrible day he
disappeared.

Owen’s voice came out husky as he remembered.
“We hung out a lot, before we had to focus on you. We were pretty
close, more than anyone knows. Those years he roamed alone…when you
were still a kid…well, we would meet up every now and then. We both
had to mainstream, but when we were together, we could be more
ourselves. You know?”

“No, I didn’t know.” I shook my head. My own
voice was thick. “Do you…do you really think he’s dead, Owen?”

He blew out a sigh, fluttering my hair. “I
don’t know. I really don’t. Nobody does. But that video—”

I cut him off. “I don’t really care about the
video. I know why they sent it, but I also know what I feel.”

“No, there’s something else you should know.”
He paused. “See, we still don’t know who hacked Rina’s account, but
they don’t think it was Amadis. It’s too difficult to believe a
council member—or any Amadis—would go behind Rina’s back like this.
They think it might have been the Daemoni.”