The Chosen Ones (23 page)

Startled, I looked up at him. It
was the first time I’d seen Thane lose control of his emotions. Was that an
actual flush to his cheeks? He spun around, pacing away from me and facing the
woods. Why now, of all times, did he choose to act so human?

Did this have to do with my
relationship with Will? I took my lower lip between my teeth, lost in thought. Will
cared about me. Will, who I cared for as well, but who I might never see again.
I glanced toward the trees into the direction where I knew the shore lay. Could
Will and I have possibly had some sort of relationship like I’d read about in
those books? Tony and Kelly had something. But thoughts of Tony and Kelly made
my stomach churn. One of them was a traitor. And if they had survived, Will had
no idea what his friends had done.
 

“Why didn’t you tell Will that
someone in the group might be a traitor? Is it because you think Will is the
one working with Bacchus?” Yeah, my tone came out angry, but I couldn’t quite
help myself. I was tired of the secrets and I cared for Will.

“No. Will is blindly allegiant
to the cause—he would never betray his followers. It’s one of many weaknesses.”

One of many? I frowned, annoyed.
It was easy to pick on someone who wasn’t here. I wondered what Will would say
in response to Thane’s comment.
 
 

“Come in.” Thane faced me. “We
can talk. There are lots of questions he can answer. It’s warmer in there and
he has food.”

Food? That caught my attention,
although reluctantly. I stood and followed Thane’s broad shoulders toward the
cottage. I’d been so stunned, so angry, that I’d refused to enter. But there
were times to set your bitterness aside, and this was one of them. Up close I
realized the cottage was actually a lot worse off than I’d first thought. The
wooden shingles were hanging off, some missing. The stairs creaked and groaned
under our weight. Part of my anger wavered. What was it like to live here on
this island completely alone, only the occasional rabbit and deer to keep you
company?

Thane pulled open the door and
stepped aside. When I entered I was amazed to see it looked like the homes I’d
read about. He had windows with curtains, and shelves with trinkets; shells,
animals skulls, books. Two chairs flanked a fireplace and what looked to be a
kitchen stood against one side. Even more surprising were the two doors that interrupted
the far wall, as if he had bedrooms. It was an actual home. Not like the
compound where personal objects were frowned upon.

I took in the jars of rocks and
shells, the animal skulls sitting on the shelves, the many, many books. This
was my grandfather…a man of science and learning. A man I obviously took after.
A man I would have probably enjoyed talking to in another life.

“Sit,” he said gruffly as he
settled in a chair he had somehow made of branches and leather.

Impressed, I sat in the similar
chair across from his, while Thane paced to the windows and stared out into the
evening. A fire burned brightly in the fireplace and I was struck by how free
he was here. Free to live as he wished.
 

“Why did you come?” he demanded,
his grip tight on the arms of his chairs.
 

So much for the happy reunion
with my grandfather. He obviously didn’t want me here. “Why did you let us rot
in those compounds?”

“What?” He snatched a glass from
a small side table he’d made out of a cut log and drank deeply. “Did you think
I should risk my hide to travel across the state to rescue you? I didn’t live
this long by doing stupid things.”

Anger made my cheeks flush. My
own hands gripped the chair as I resisted the urge to leave again.

“They say you know how to stop
the beautiful ones,” Thane interrupted, which was definitely for the better as
I was about to tell Grandfather exactly where he could stick his information.

He slowly swooshed the drink
around and around in his glass, lost in his thoughts. “Why would they believe
that?”

Thane was quiet for a few
moments. “You are Raven?”

Grandfather took another drink. “Why
would I help you?”

“Because Thane is on our side,”
I explained. Yes, even I was shocked by how loyal to the dhampir I suddenly
felt. “While you have been doing nothing all these years, he’s been fighting
for us.”

Grandfather released a harsh bark
of a laugh. “There are ways of helping other than killing and fighting.” He tapped
his head. “You can’t beat the beautiful ones by strength.” He glared at Thane.
“You should know that. You’ll never be strong enough to fight them. You need to
use your brains, girl.”

The worst part was I knew he was
right—not that I would admit as much.

“How do you know you can trust
him?” My grandfather nodded toward Thane, as if he wasn’t standing right there.
Of course Thane didn’t look the least bit offended. I doubted he cared what anyone
thought about him.

I shrugged. “He’s had plenty of
opportunities to kill me, but he hasn’t. In fact, he’s saved me upon many
occasions.”

The old man frowned at Thane, as
if he expected trickery, or maybe didn’t believe me. Finally, his blue gaze
shifted to me. “What do you know?”

Was that actual curiosity I
heard in his voice? I had the sudden feeling that he wanted to talk, that he
was eager to share his knowledge. Perhaps he was lonelier than he pretended. “Very
little.”

“Jane has only been out of the
compound for a little over a month,” Thane explained.

Fortunately he didn’t add that
half that time I was out of my mind insane. Some things Grandfather didn’t need
to know.

“I see.” He nodded slowly and
stood, heading into the kitchen. “Then I’ll start at the beginning.” He picked up
a bowl and spoon and scooped some stew from a large pan. My stomach grumbled,
my mouth watering. “Humans ran this world over two hundred years ago. The
beautiful ones, or vampires as they used to be called, kept to themselves. They
were a mere myth.” He shook his head. “A myth that humans wrote about, made
movies about, something to scare children and titillate women.”

I frowned. “Movies?”

He waved aside my question and
shuffled toward me. I didn’t miss the way he favored his right leg. “Not
important. But one of those vampires decided he was sick of living that way.
Why should they, he wondered, when vampires were so much more evolved than humans?”

I had to admit my grandfather
could spin an exciting tale. If it had been mere fiction, I might have been
able to curl up and enjoy the story. But no, it was a horrifying reality. The
fire crackled, warming my left side. Shadows leapt and danced across the
cottage walls, as if reacting the tale and adding to the eeriness of it all.

Grandfather handed me the bowl. Grateful,
I lunged toward the food, my wariness fleeing as quickly as it had come. My
hands shook with need as I took the meal, holding it close and breathing deeply
the erotic scents. I wasn’t so proud that I’d turn down food, not when food was
the link between life and death, health and illness. The first spoonful was
like heaven. Chunks of meat, potatoes, carrots and herbs I couldn’t identify.
Dear God, I’d never tasted anything so wonderful.

“And so they began to attack,”
my grandfather continued. “Small, sly attacks at first, testing how far they
could push the humans. People were afraid. They said aliens were invading, they
claimed it was the devil, demons, and a variety of other ridiculous notions. As
people started mysteriously dying, their throats ripped out, humans panicked. Cultures
started fighting amongst themselves and the vampires realized they didn’t have
to work at all. The human’s fear would destroy them. Then, as vampires became
more confident, they took over cities at a time. Within a decade, humans were
rounded up; some taken in as servants, others kept in compounds as food.”

I still shivered at the thought.
“What are they?
Are
they demons?”

He stood and hobbled toward a
shelf. It was obvious he had a bad leg or hip. I wondered how old he was and
how much longer he could possibly last here alone. Who took care of him when he
grew ill? I wondered mostly why he had never tried to save me or my siblings. Did
he really place his own life so far above others? At the compound we’d been taught
to work as a whole, put others first. But here he worried only about himself.

He pulled a book from a shelf. “You
see this?”

Taking in the many novels, my
appetite shifted from the food to the books. He started toward us, the large
novel in hand. “We believe that thousands of years ago humans and vampires
shared a common ancestor.”

He placed the book upon the
small side table next to me. Notes were written between sentences, while
drawings covered any white area. I didn’t quite understand the scribbles and not
for the first time I wondered about my grandfather’s sanity.

“The vampires were merely a
different branch, a more evolved branch. Their senses are better, they’re
stronger, and they’re faster.”

“And they feed off blood,” I
whispered. The same information Thane had already said. If we already knew as
much as this old man, why were we here?

“Yes, the life force. That thing
that connects us all.”

“And dhampir,” I asked, glancing
at Thane. “How are they different?”

He shrugged. “Perhaps not quite as
strong, or fast. They can feed on blood or on normal food. But if they feed on
blood, they’re stronger.”

What Thane had said. I swallowed
hard and looked once more at Thane. How often had he fed on blood? When was the
last time he had sunk his teeth into some innocent human? He was looking out
the windows as if our conversation didn’t have anything to do with him.

“For both the blood has to be
fresh, living. Once the person dies, the blood begins to die. But the biggest
difference is that dhampir, in my opinion, have a soul.”

I shook my head, confused. I’d
remembered reading about souls a time or two, but hadn’t truly understood. This
was something Thane hadn’t mentioned. “What is it?”

“A soul, which you and I have,
is something that is almost inexplicable.” He stood, pacing the room. “It’s
what gives us a conscience. It’s what makes us love another, feel pain and
empathy for another.”

I wondered, briefly if my
grandfather had one. After all, he was perfectly content to let us die in those
compounds. I scooped up another spoonful, eating the stew as fast as I could
before it went cold. “And vampires don’t have that?”

“How could they?” He glanced at
Thane. “Dhampir do. Perhaps not as much as humans, but it is there.”

“How fortunate for us,” Thane
said blandly. “Do you or do you not know how to kill them?”

Apparently he’d had enough of
talking about souls and whether or not he had one. I found the talk fascinating,
and wanted to learn more. I itched to go to that shelf and pick up a book.
Instead, I took my last bite, wishing for more stew, and set the bowl on the
table.
 

“You’re welcome to read them,”
Grandfather said, noticing my attention. “I had to recopy some because they
were in such bad shape, but I wrote them exactly as they were.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. Thrilled
like I hadn’t been in weeks, I stood and went to the shelf. “Where did you get
the supplies to copy?”

“Same as you: stolen merchandise
from the beautiful ones.”

So he either did go to the
mainland upon occasion, or someone brought him supplies. I pulled a book from
the shelf and read the spine.
Osteology.
When
I flipped open the book, there were skeletons and a variety of bones pictured
on the pages. My eyes went wide. So much to learn. Thane thought I knew a lot.
I didn’t know anything.
 

“Who brings you the supplies?”
Thane asked.

I heard the wariness in his
voice and slowly replaced the book. Something was bothering Thane.

“Friends,” Grandfather said. “I’ve
been known to go to the mainland but not for long and not far.”

“Unfortunately we can’t all live
on an island,” I said, with a tad bit of bitterness. “Besides, I’m sure the
beautiful ones would find a way onto the island if the food source
disappeared.” Frowning, I turned toward Thane. “Why don’t they come here?”

“Because,” Grandfather
interrupted. “If there is one thing they’re afraid of more than anything its
death.”

Aren’t we all?

“There are only two ways a
beautiful one can die within an instant. One, cutting off their head. Two,
drowning. There’s no coming back from drowning. Fire,” he shrugged. “It’s a
slow death. Too slow. They can heal themselves and make it out of the flames.
But water, usually not in time.”

“Good to know.”

“Alright.” Grandfather stood,
drawing our attention to him. “Come with me.”

He didn’t wait but headed toward
a back room. His excitement had me warily glancing at Thane. When he started to
follow my grandfather, I shoved the book back onto the shelf and went after
them.
 

“Careful,” Thane whispered as I
fell into step beside him.

“He’s my grandfather.”

He didn’t respond.

And I realized how stupid I
sounded. Yeah, he was my grandfather, but in this world that didn’t mean
anything. I moved into the room, Thane at my back. My grandfather was sliding
his hand around the wooden plank wall, mumbling under his breath. Crazy indeed.

“Here it is.” Suddenly the wall
opened to reveal a hidden room. I gasped, surprised, when I shouldn’t have
been. Nothing this crazy old man did should have shocked me.

“Well, come on,” Grandfather
muttered, shuffling into the room.

I moved hesitantly forward and
peeked inside. It was small, but cluttered with shelves, bottles, skeletons and
other things I didn’t recognize or understand. Two tables and shelves with a
variety of jars filled the wall farthest from us. “What is this place?”