Simmer (10 page)

Trumpets.

Trumpets? Kira thought, her mind completely
freed now. Trumpets were playing.

Her eyes shot widely open and she jerked to
the side, fleeing from Luke's encroaching lips and jumping for his
phone. Trumpets were his ring tone. She forgot that he had changed
it.

She dug through his bag, pulled out the
vibrating phone and said, "Uh, do you want to answer this?" in a
really lame attempt to change the subject.

Luke still leaned forward, completely
immobile from the change of events. It took him a moment to even
register what she had said.

"Sure, sure," he reached his hand out and sat
back down. Kira wasn't sure where to look.

"Hello?" She heard Luke ask. "Tristan?"

Her eyes focused on the phone.

Chapter
Six

"Tristan?" She mouthed at Luke, asking if she
had heard correctly. He nodded and waved her away so he could
concentrate on the phone conversation. Kira tried to pull at his
thoughts, but they were suddenly ironclad and barred shut.

"He said he's called you like six times,"
Luke whispered while his hand covered the receiver. Kira dove for
her phone — it was on silent. Dang, she thought when she saw half a
dozen missed calls from an unknown number. What happened to his
cell phone?

"Okay. Uh-huh. On their way here. Today. I'll
notify the Council. Yup. Okay, here's Kira." Luke passed her the
phone. She raised her eyebrows, questioning the conversation.

"Good news or bad news first?" Tristan asked
after they said hello.

"Um, bad." Kira sighed. It's always better to
have something good to look forward to than something bad to be
afraid to hear, she supposed. Although Kira didn't think she would
ever understand why bad news always seemed to be lurking behind
every good moment in her life.

"Vampires are gathering in Orlando. I'm not
sure why, but it can't be good and it can't be coincidence that
this is happening a few days after you arrived."

Kira fell back against the wooden platform.
Some news was just better lying down.

"Do you think they're going to attack
Sonnyville?"

Luke laughed behind her. "No, that would be
idiotic. The town has defenses like you've never seen," he said,
loudly enough that Tristan heard on the other end of the line.

"Agreed. I think they want to draw you out
into the open."

"Simple then, I don't leave and they go
away."

"Maybe, but I know you and you don't let
other people fight your battles for you. What would you do if they
started killing people to force you to meet them?" Tristan said,
already anticipating her answer.

"Yeah, I would destroy them,
vigilante-style." Luke smiled in appreciation while Tristan sighed
like he was hoping she would have said something else. "So, what
was the good news? I'm sure Luke won't let me do anything without
talking to the Council first..." She looked over at Luke, who
nodded, and Kira rolled her eyes. He had completely lost his sense
of adventure since they moved to Sonnyville. He was the rule
abiding, town golden-boy again.

"Well, if all the vampires are going to
Florida..." Tristan said, letting the idea linger.

Kira jumped up in realization.

"You're coming to visit!" She practically
shrieked. He was grinning on the other end of the phone, she just
knew he was. "When will you get here?"

"Tomorrow afternoon, so I'll be eagerly
waiting by the phone for your call. This is a new cell phone, by
the way."

Luke reached out to grab the phone from her
hands. She slapped him away. "Kira, we have to go get the Council.
This is serious. It's not some lover's rendezvous."

He's mean when he's jealous, Kira thought
bitterly. But, she understood his feelings, more now than ever
before. Nothing would ever be the same between them, would it, now
that she knew exactly how he felt?

"I'll see you soon," Tristan sighed through
the phone, pulling Kira from thoughts about Luke. "I love you."

"Love you too," Kira responded happily.
Tristan was coming, and right now that was all the mattered.

Kira couldn't help the silly smile that
spread across her face. She missed him. She wanted Tristan around
so all of this confusion with Luke would be over. She needed the
distraction from Luke's thoughts.

Luke stretched his hand out and Kira dropped
his cell phone. He stood up, grabbed his bag and walked off the
platform. Kira had no other choice but to follow him or continue to
sit there going crazy with curiosity. She ran after him.

"Where are we going?"

"I need to alert the Council. And, the only
way to do that is to talk with the head Council member."

"Let me guess, Councilman Peters?"

"Bingo," he said and continued walking. Kira
let herself drop slightly behind. She had wanted to wait for her
grandparents to officially invite her to their home before barging
in. As per usual, things were not working out as planned.

Kira followed Luke around the bend. They
continued walking along the sidewalk until they reached a small,
almost cottage-like home at the next corner. There were overflowing
flower boxes and gray-blue shutters on all of the windows. The
front door was painted to match and the sidewalk was almost
invisible due to the garden. Flowers, mostly bold reds and
vivacious oranges, leaned over the worn brick and drooping bushes
covered the rest.

Taking a deep breath, Kira stepped past Luke.
She wanted to be the one to knock on the door and say hello.
Letting Luke do the work would feel like hiding.

With slight hesitation, Kira banged her
knuckles against the door. One. Two. Three. Instantly, she heard
feet shuffle on the other side. A fleeting sense of nerves hit her
stomach when she saw the knob turn, but when the smiling face of
her grandmother greeted her, Kira just felt relief.

"Kira! What a surprise. Please, come in."

She had a sweet voice, like a flute, both
energetic and relaxing at the same time.

"Luke's here too," Kira said and pulled him
into view. Her grandmother said hello and stepped aside to let both
of them in.

The furniture seemed elderly somehow. The
sofas were flowery with droopy cushions, clearly worse for their
age. Surprisingly, there weren't many objects aside from furniture.
A few books, a few photographs of her grandparents and a few
paintings on the walls: nothing very personal and nothing of her
mother's.

Kira tried to hide her suddenly deflated
mood. She had been hoping for a few answers and a few memories.
Maybe a few pictures to stuff into her bag for later...

"Who's there, Lana?" Her grandfather walked
cane first around the corner and then stopped in his tracks. Kira
was still stuck on the name he had used: Lana. Her mother's name,
and she guessed her grandmother's too. Instantly, Kira felt a pang
of sadness at not sharing the family name, but, she thought, at
least she had learned something about her history she had not known
before. It was something, even if a small something.

"Miss Dawson, Mr. Bowrey," he nodded. "What
brings you here?" He sat down on the sofa, pushing the flattened
cushion deep into the springs. Luke stepped forward. It was his
turn to do the talking.

"We got some news from a...trusted source
that vampires are on their way to Orlando. They're congregating in
a way we've never seen, and we think there is probably some plan to
capture Kira."

The Councilman held up his hand to signal
Luke to stop talking. "How trusted?" He asked.

"Someone who's saved both of our lives more
than once. Someone who cares a lot for Kira and would never let
anyone hurt her." Kira nodded along, silently so thankful that Luke
hadn't said Tristan's name. Or more importantly, let slip what he
was. Being here made Kira acutely aware of one thing, no one in
this town would have any tolerance for her relationship.

Luke continued describing what he and Tristan
had spoken of, but there wasn't much to say. Vampires were on their
way, the end of the world was imminent — just another day in the
life, Kira ruefully mused.

"I will call an emergency Council meeting to
discuss this. Luke, take Kira home. Tomorrow morning at ten o'clock
we will announce our decision in the town square. Start spreading
the word, please." He got up and walked away, just as quickly as he
had appeared, leaving no time for Kira to bring up her mother or
father. Lana, her grandmother, showed them out. Luke left first,
but before Kira could leave, a soft wrinkled hand grabbed her
forearm.

"Kira?" She turned around to look into the
caring eyes that greeted her. "Please, give him some time. Just
have patience."

"I will," Kira said softly. Her grandmother
squeezed, putting an extra ounce of love into that touch and smiled
that secretive smile Kira had seen before.

"You are just like my daughter: strong and
willful. It scares him, because he cares so much. He always
has."

Kira put her own hand over her grandmother's
and held it there for a moment. "I understand." She turned to
leave, but stopped in the middle when she noticed the glistening in
her grandmother's eyes. This is killing her, Kira thought, maybe
she needs me just as much as I need her. They had no family, the
Peters'. They had had a daughter who died and a granddaughter who
was taken from them. They had no one but each other. But now all
three of them have the chance at family, Kira thought.

Reaching behind her neck, Kira unclasped the
chain holding her father's wedding ring and the locket. Carefully,
she pulled the locket free, then closed the fastener and let the
necklace drop under her shirt again.

"Until he's ready, why don't you take this?"
Kira said, offering up the charm. Now that she had Tristan's
drawing, she could bear to part with it for a little while. "I'll
get it back from you someday soon. I'll stop by for dinner."

Her grandmother nodded and took the locket.
Kira walked away before the lump in her throat could grow any
larger, but not before she saw how her grandmother's face glowed
when she opened it.

Luke was waiting for her at the end of the
path, forever patient. They started the journey back to his
house.

"So..."

"Yeah..." Kira said, not liking the awkward
silence starting to form. The air slowly closed in on her, stealing
her breath and making it hard to think. The phrase 'you could cut
the tension with a knife' had never resonated so much. She couldn't
help but ask, is this me feeling so out of place or is it Luke?

"So, that was weird before," he said
softly.

"The fact that I can read your mind or the
fact that we almost locked lips..."

Did I just say that? Kira asked herself
silently. What in the world? That was the last thing she actually
wanted to talk about. Kira couldn't meet his eyes.

He opened his mouth. No sound came out and
Kira could almost see the gears turning in his head. Which approach
would he take?

"Oh, was that you? You know, women are
constantly throwing themselves at me. I can't keep it straight
anymore."

Kira smiled and let out a little laugh. It
was almost heartfelt. They wouldn't be bearing their souls tonight,
thank God. But they would have to discuss it at some point, Kira
thought. It was one of those inescapable things that only gets more
troublesome the longer you try to ignore it. Instead of lingering
on things Luke obviously didn't want to talk about, Kira slipped
into her funny girl mode too.

"It must be tough to have everyone in this
town love you. I mean, just today I saw dozens of beautiful blondes
fighting over you. I, a lowly red head, clearly have no
chance."

"A little hair dye and you'd fit right in
with my adoring fans. Just a warning, I request that they follow me
around holding 'I heart Luke Bowrey' signs at least once a
week."

"Oh, shoot. I left mine at home."

"Unacceptable," he replied with a 'tsk
tsk.'

"So, should we talk about this whole mind
reading thing?" Kira asked after a moment.

"What, how you've gone all Professor X on me?
No problem. I just need to buy a really sweet motorcycle
helmet."

"Luke, I'm serious —"

"Me too. I can get flames down the side.
Really badass." Kira shoved him. The move was becoming more and
more common on her part, but it was the only way to get him to shut
up sometimes.

"I just want to say, I'll never try to read
what you're thinking. I would never actively invade your privacy
like that."

"I know." Luke shrugged. "It's not your
fault. You saved my life and almost died in the process. We
probably should have expected something like this to happen." Now
it was Kira's turn to shrug. "Let's not tell anyone though,
okay?"

"Agreed," Kira said as they turned down the
pathway to Luke's house.

Would she tell Tristan? It would feel like
lying to keep it a secret, but would any boy want to hear that his
girlfriend had some psychic connection with her male best friend?
Oh, the same one who happened to be crushing on her big time?
Especially if that connection resulted in the two of them almost
kissing?

Those questions plagued her for the rest of
the night and through the following morning. Throw in obsessive
thoughts about what Diana was planning and serious excitement at
finally getting to see Tristan, and it was no wonder that the 10
o'clock Council meeting passed by in the blink of an eye.

All Kira remembered from the gathering was
that they had decided to send out a scouting party to decide if the
vampire situation was really a threat or if they had gotten faulty
information. Luke was put in charge since he had received the
information and Kira had forced them to include her too, even
though the whole town thought sending her would just make things
more dangerous. Luke requested his sister come, and since his
sister just loved Kira so much, she requested the blonde girl from
the photo in Luke's room come along too. The Council approved the
decision and here they were, getting ready to leave.