Tempest (14 page)

I should fight the two
dark shadows approaching me. I should never give up. I would never
let them kill me so easily. But I was frozen. Frozen in the past.
Locked in the memories of just one of the many times I would almost
die.

A gush of wind, one
after the other, blew past and the dark shadows were gone as far as I
could see. A new presence came with the wind and I knew that the
shadows hadn’t just left, they had fled. This was getting
out-of-control and fast. The sounds of bugs and nighttime creatures
returned and I knew I was alone for the time-being. “Luke!” I
called out to him again. Where was he? I knew he could hear me. Why
did he have to believe in me so much? This was a stupid idea. I
wished Hayden were here, he would know just what to do. I felt the
ground with my hands, working my way over to the trees. I dug through
the cold mud, pulling up a promising branch I could use if necessary,
and started moving once again to find Luke. I debated whether to walk
or run. Running didn’t pan out too well last time but as I heard
the impending silence around me again, I knew it was my only option.
Before I could sprint, I felt a hard, angry arm around my waist and I
was lifted into the air, upside down. I still had the stick in my
hand and prepared to use it until I realized what, or who, had caught
me.

“Drop the twig, Ana”

“Hayden?” The
combination of his touch and smell brought back all the familiarities
at once.

He didn’t answer. I
let out a slight squeal as I was thrown over his shoulders. Hayden
felt like a rock underneath me. “Hayden?” I pleaded for some sort
of response and when I didn’t get one I changed my tone. “Put me
down! We have to find Luke.” Wrong words. Hayden tensed slightly at
my comment.

I heard footsteps in
front of me, and I quickly panicked.

The footsteps slowed
“Whew!”
Luke
. “All I have to say was what the f—“

“Shut it, Luke.”

“Geez, somebody came
back from Texas cranky. Ana is that you?” I slumped against
Hayden’s death grip, my mind running through everything that
happened in the last ten minutes. I had lost Luke, come close to
death, and Hayden had returned early from Texas. “Damn. I thought I
told you to go back to the car!”

“And you expected her
to comply? “ Hayden scoffed sarcastically.

Hayden dipped down and
picked up the key chain I had dropped earlier. The adrenaline that
ran through my body now eased, leaving me a headache from the extra
blood that shot through my head. I winced.

“Are you ok?”
Hayden and Luke said simultaneously and I felt Hayden’s head snap
in the direction of Luke. There was too much tension in the air. I
dreaded when I would have to answer questions about what I was
thinking to go along with something like this. Even though it wasn’t
Luke’s fault, Hayden would blame him anyway.

“I’m fine,” I
finally answered.

When we got to the gate
I only saw one car and wondered how Hayden got here.

“Where’s the
truck?” I mumbled.

“It’s already at
home.” The lights on the car flashed as it was unlocked.

My head throbbed again
as Hayden sat me down in the back seat.

“
I’m
driving,” Hayden said as a command to Luke.

Luke threw up his arms
in surrender. Not even
he
wanted to push Hayden any further
tonight.

“Hayden…” I
started, as we pulled away from Lafitte.

“Not now, Ana. I’m
not ready to talk about this now.” His jaw muscles clenched.

“Why the hell not?”
Luke butted in, obviously deserting his previous position of not
pushing Hayden. “You can’t shelter her from the underworld
forever. She needs to know, has to know! She saved the guy's life for
God’s sake. This could be something.”

My eyes shot up. I
had
been able to change the future?

“We are
not
doing this now,” Hayden said through his teeth.

“Whatever, man. It
was amazing.
She
was amazing. Think about it, now we don’t
have to go hunting later. How lucky did we get that this thing, or
these things, weren’t human?”

Hayden froze at Luke’s
last word. But his emotions quickly changed into something else.
Anger? Jealousy?
I didn’t know. “Are you really that
stupid? You could have gotten her killed! I know you’re all bent on
destroying your own life but leave
my
girlfriend out of it.
You say you love her but then you put her life in danger.
If
you truly loved her, you would leave her alone. She is with me.
Whatever you are trying to do to prove otherwise is not working and
is going to get her killed!”

“Don’t start with
me. Yeah, yeah we all know your sob story. Well, who the hell cares
you’ve been waiting 100 years for her? She is my true One and you
know I will never,
can never
, stop trying to make her love
me!”

“Whoa, hello? I am
right here. Stop fighting and stop talking about me like I am not
right in front of you! I was, once again, almost
killed
. That
may seem like a walk in the park for y’all but I am freaking out
back here and have a killer headache so, if you guys could, please
save your displays of testosterone for another day.” Hayden whipped
around a curve before finally slowing down. I rubbed my temples,
trying to make the throbbing go away.

“No problem, babe.”
Luke winked at me. That was the last straw for Hayden. The car jolted
to a stop and I hit the back of Luke’s seat. A new pain shot
through my head.

“Ah, shoot!” I said
with my hands over my face.

“Ana, I’m sorry. I
didn’t mean—“

“Just please take me
home,” I moaned

“
What
is your
problem, Hayden?” Luke turned toward me, holding out his hand to
touch me. I was too busy cringing in pain to notice what was going to
happen. “Are you ok, Ana?”

“Don’t. Touch.
Her.” I heard a thump and my eyes shot open. This drive felt like
it was taking forever.
Please, let’s just make it home.

I leaned through the
middle, creating a barrier between them. “This is ridiculous.
You
guys
are being ridiculous. Please just stop. You are brothers or
did you forget? And I really don’t have the time, energy or desire
to play referee, especially when it’s about me.” I dropped my
head, gripping it with my arms. I felt the car start moving again and
a few minutes later the fluorescent lights of the garage lit up the
car. The engine went off and no one moved until I lifted my head.

Luke’s hand was on
the handle, his torso turned to exit. “Just so you know. This isn’t
about the curse or what has happened between Ana and me. This is
about her. Just her. And I believe in her, something you failed to
do. If you haven’t noticed, Ana isn’t one to sit back and not do
something. She’s not made of glass; she can handle herself. She can
be something more and tonight has proven that. Just as she has
believed in me, I will never stop believing in her.” The car door
slammed behind him.

Hayden helped me out of
the car and we walked inside toward the kitchen. He handed me a
bottle of water out of the fridge and two Tylenols from the medicine
cabinet.

“Thanks,” I said
before popping them in my mouth. I thought I would need the whole
bottle with the way I was feeling.

Hayden looked me up and
down for the first time, noticing my shirt. I squeezed my eyes shut
not wanting to explain, or not knowing how. Either one, I just wasn’t
sure at this point. When I opened my eyes, sympathy was displayed all
over Hayden’s face. I sighed, taking a step into his arms, my hands
curling to his chest. He kissed my hair multiple times and I finally
felt the pain subside.