The Heart's Ashes (60 page)

“
I’ll always love you guys,” I said into Mike’s
chest.

“
I know.” He kissed the top of my head and I stood back,
leaving Emily in Mike’s hold.

Each hug came
directly after the other then as David and I walked back down the
aisle, holding hands. The sun warmed each tight embrace, and the
joy of our family and friends spread like laughter over the
afternoon.

When I finally
pulled away from the last hug, I turned around to look at David; at
some point we we’re dragged off in opposite directions. He smiled,
his eyes warmly watching me as if he had been the whole time.

“
Are you okay?” I asked, standing beside him where he leaned
on the house, his hands in his pockets, the yellow sun lighting the
gold in his hair.

“
I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“
You had a funny look on your face.”

He shrugged
one shoulder. “I’m okay.”

“
Do you miss your family?”

“
Only a little,” he said so casually I almost believed
him.

“
I’m sorry, David.” I wrapped my arms through his jacket and
rested my cheek against his tie.

“
Don’t be sorry, sweetheart.” He lifted my face a little.
“Keeping our union a secret from them is to protect our future;
it’s worth missing my uncle for a few moments in exchange for being
with you forever.”

“
Couldn’t you have at least told him? Surely he wouldn’t have
reported your whereabouts.”

David
grimaced. “He would be legally bound to. I wouldn’t expect him to
break the law for me.”

“
I doubt he would’ve minded.”

“
That’s not the point, though, is it, mon amour?”

“
I don’t know if I like this law-loving side of you. It scares
me.”

“
Why?”

I looked up at him, my eyes narrowed into slits to keep out
the sun’s glare. “What if
I
broke the law? Would you report me?” David
stiffened; my mouth dropped. “David? Would you really?”

“
I—” he pressed his lips tightly together and breathed out
through his nose. “Would Mike?”

“
Yes. But that’s human law—it’s different.”

“
Why? Because you grew up with it?” David stood up from his
lean on the wall, indicating the need for distance; I stood back
from him a little. “I grew up with vampire law, Ara. I always knew
what my uncle was. When we stayed with him, we lived by his laws.
Breaking vampire laws, to me, is as serious as breaking a human
law, to you.”

“
But—”

“
But nothing, Ara,” he reasoned in a soft voice. “Just because
you’re new to this world doesn’t make our rules any less
serious.”

“
That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?” said a familiar
voice from behind.

“
Jason?” I turned around, my face unintentionally lighting up.
Oops.

David
stiffened and stood straight. I never noticed it before, but Jason
is ever so slightly taller than David.

“
David. Congratulations.” Jason extended his hand, his
friendly smile warming the whole afternoon.

David looked
away.

Jason cleared
his throat and dropped his proffered hand. “May I at least kiss the
bride?”

“
Don’t even think about it,” David muttered through his teeth,
stepping slightly between Jason and I.

“
Come now, there’s no need for hostility,” Jason
said.

David’s fist
tightened.

Across the
yard, Mike headed toward us at full speed—his eyes cold, the
kindness in his face masked by the hunger of impending battle.

Oh no, this is
gonna cause a scene. Think, Ara, think. “Of course you can kiss the
bride,” I said chirpily and stepped into Jason’s arms; he leaned
down slowly, and with such familiarity, pecked my cheek.

Mike stopped
dead; Emily covered her mouth, and I don’t even want to know what
David did.

“
David?” Jason smiled, keeping his arm around my waist. “Let’s
not make a scene, brother—that’s not why I came.”

“
Then why did you?” David didn’t bother to unclench his
teeth.

“
I—”

“
Hello there.” My dad stepped up beside David. “This must be
the brother. David said you were overseas and couldn’t make
it?”

“
Turns out you can bribe your way into anything if it’s to
help your brother.” Jason shook Dad’s hand, his arm tightening
around me as my thoughts rushed down the path of what Dad would do
if he knew Jason was the one who attacked me.

“
Well, it’s nice to finally meet you. I didn’t er...David
never mentioned you were twins.” Dad looked between the two faces,
touching his chin.

“
Well, that’s because I’m better looking than him.” Jason
smiled warmly.

Dad looked at
David who switched on the human side and smiled back, disguising
the hostility rather well under his likely desire to rip arms off a
certain individual. Anyone who knew him well would see the raging
bull beneath the surface, though.

Jason, you
better watch your words.

“
Well, you should come meet Ara’s friends.” Dad nodded over to
the tree. “And Emily’s here. She mentioned you two dated
once.”

“
That we did,” Jason said as he walked away with my dad; the
conversation trailed off as I fell into David’s arms

“
Why is he here?” I asked.

“
Why did you do that?” David asked, keeping his eyes on
Jason.

“
What?”

“
Let him touch you.” His voice trickled with
disgust.

“
I’m sorry. I knew it’d shock Mike out of his battle
walk.”

David exhaled,
stroking the back of his finger over my jaw. “Don’t ever do that
again.”

“
Don’t worry. I won’t.”

Dad walked
Jason over to Mike and Emily, branching off before introductions
when Vicki called; I could see the hatred mark the invisible line
of conflict between the two rivals. Jason offered the exchange of
friendship first. Mike gripped his hand firmly—firm enough to break
it had Jason been human—and muttered something through his fake
smile, his teeth like a cage.

I cuddled into
David, wrapping my fingers around his lapels. “What are they
saying?”

“
Shh.” He held his index finger up, watching
intently.

Jason, keeping
his hand in Mike’s lock, leaned forward and whispered words that
sent Mike completely stiff, his head whipping up to cast a
wide-eyed glance in our direction; my blood chilled.

“
Ara.” David pressed his hand between my shoulder blades and
took shallow breaths.

“
What? What is it?”

“
We have to go. Now.”

“
What? Why?”

“
Now, Ara,” he said a little louder and grabbed my
arm.

Mike ran
toward us, his eyes round, his breath heavy. “Go—just go. I’ll take
care of the rest.” He pushed us in the direction of the low-lying
hedge. “Uh, ladies and gentlemen, if you’d like to head inside—we
have some refreshments and cocktails...”

David and I
ducked around the side of the house—fleeing our own wedding.

“
Go upstairs—” David shoved me softly. “Get changed. Be
quick.”

“
Why?”

“
Just do it, Ara!”

My heart
thudded. “Why are yelling at me?”

“
Oh, sweetheart. I’m sorry.” David wrapped me tightly in his
arms. “I’m sorry—it’s just, the Council. They’re coming. They found
us.”

“
Where are they?” I searched the yard frantically.

“
Jason says they’ll be here within the hour—we have to
go.”

“
Forget getting changed then.” I grabbed his arm, then
stopped; “Wait—what about my dad?”

“
They won’t touch him. Emily will stay here to make
sure.”

“
But they’ll find out about her!”

“
And she’s willing to risk that, Ara. They’ll just request she
reports, that’s all. She’ll need to join a Set for a few months
until we return from Paris.”

“
And Jason, where’s he?”

David nodded
to a car, parked sideways on the verge. “He’s waiting to take us
somewhere safe.”

“
And you trust him?” I asked.

“
He would have no reason to warn us—then hurt you.”

Then why are alarm bells going off in my head?
“Take this for me, then? Just in case.” I slipped
off my sliver bangle.

Hesitantly,
David accepted it, but his soul sunk into a bloodied vat of
heartache, and projected the pain out through his eyes.

“
I’m sorry, David. I’d just hate for anything to happen to
it.”

He shook his
head and stuffed the bangle in his pocket. “Come on, let’s go.”

It wasn’t
necessary, but I understood his sudden authoritative vampire need
to protect me, so dragging me along by my arm was an acceptable
method of moving me faster. I’d slap him for it later.

“
Hop in.” He opened the car door, practically shoved me in
then slid in the backseat beside me, slamming the door.

“
We clear?” Jason said.

David glanced
over his shoulder. “Clear.”

“
Ready then?” Jason asked, revving the engine.

“
Jason, just go!”

“
What will they do,” I asked, feeling my stomach in my ribs
with the speed of the car forcing me back in my seat, “—when they
get there? Will they hurt anyone?”

“
No,” Jason stated factually. “It’s not your family they’re
after. They won’t make a scene.”

“
Won’t they kill them—to get to us?”

“
No.”

“
How can you be so sure?” I asked, sitting forward.

“
Stop worrying about that now, Ara.” Jason made my heart jump
when our eyes met in the rear-view. “David, buckle her in. If we
crash—”

“
I can take care of my own girl, Jason,” David said, but
grabbed the seatbelt and forced me into place, buckling
it.

Jason smiled
smugly and winked at me; I laughed under my breath, looking away
from the mirror.

“
What’s the plan, then?” David sat forward and gripped the
shoulders of the front seats.

“
We need to call Arthur. Do you have a phone?”

“
No.” David patted his pockets then looked out the back
window. “I must’ve left it behind.”

“
Pay phone.” Jason screeched the car to a halt by the side of
the road. “Tell him to meet us at your New York
apartment.”

“
Okay.” David swung the door open and stopped as his foot
touched the ground. “Ara, my love—” he took my hand, “—I’m so sorry
about this.”

I swallowed
the intense grief of a ruined wedding and tried to smile as he
kissed the lone silver band on my finger; I never got the chance to
get my engagement ring back off Dad. The anguish in my soul, I
knew, was on my face, but looked worse in David’s eyes, so I
swallowed and nodded, forming a speech of reassurance inside me.
“We’re together, David—that’s all that matters, right?”

His answering
smile warmed my heart. “I love you. I’ll just be a sec.”

“
Okay.”

The door
clunked shut and the cool of spring disappeared behind the glass.
The car idled quietly.

“
Are you okay?” Jason asked, smiling softly when I looked at
him.

“
Not really.”

“
Here.”

I reached for
the white tissue in his hand and dabbed it along my lower lashes.
Across the road, David stood in the phone booth, agitatedly hanging
up and dialling again.

“
Ara.”

I looked up at
Jason again.

“
I’m sorry,” he said.

“
For what?”

“
For this.” The tyres squealed as the car kicked into gear and
threw me back as we sped down the road.

“
What are you doing!” I screamed and unlatched my seatbelt,
jumping to my knees on the back seat; “David!” I called, tapping my
palms on the glass of the rear window.

He was already
running; his speed increased as we came to the corner, the car
swerving to make the turn, but as he bent to make a leap toward us,
a man on the sidewalk crouched and suddenly pounced through the air
like a cat on a mouse—pinning David to the bitumen. Their bodies
became a wash of blurred colour and thrashing limbs until David
shot up out of the hold and started running again.

“
Run. David, run!” I slapped the back glass, my heart pleading
with hope.

The man chased
him, flanking his heels, and David charged forward, driven by a
deeper need. But as he reached for the fender, our eyes locking for
one second, several men came up out of nowhere and tackled David to
the ground again, the huddle becoming smaller as we drove farther
and farther away.

“
Let me out!” My teeth vibrated in my head with the force of
my kick to the back of Jason’s seat.

“
No.”

“
Yes,” I squealed. The door handle seemed disconnected; I
tugged harder but it wouldn’t open, so I smashed my elbow against
the window, repeatedly. “Let me go!”