“He can read minds. Hear thoughts, I think it’s an invasion of privacy but it does come in handy at times.” Stephan chuckled at her horrified expression. “Don’t worry I told him your mind was a no-go zone. He never picked on your brain unless I asked him to. And that was only when you looked distracted or worried.”
Oh no!
“Three months ago, August twenty-third you seemed to be distant. Like you were sad about something, so Solara checked for me… I didn’t mean to invade your privacy but I was worried.”
“The day my parents died.” Her voice was so somber. “What exactly did he see?”
“Everything. You were in the car with them and you were the only one who survived. I’m so sorry about that.”
Scarlet shrugged her shoulders.
Stephan was hovering over her again. His warm breath on her neck tickled her. She felt his arms wrap themselves around her, this move was almost automatic when they were close to each other. And especially now that he thought she needed comforting. She leaned into his chest letting his embrace tighten around her. Her stomach fluttered he always had this effect on her since the day he touched her in the diner.
“How are you doing, nervous?” he knew the answer to that question yet he still asked.
“I am doing fine. Am sure everything will be fine.” She hoped everything would be fine, she needed her to be fine. She traced her fingers on the veins that were visible on his arms.
“Don’t worry too much about it relax and she will be relaxed.” She turned around to face him a questioning eyebrow raised. What did he mean by that?
With a hard smile on his lips, he answered her silent question. “If you are relaxed your whole body relaxes, and your heart won’t beat too fast. And your blood won’t rush. Kayla will be at ease if she doesn’t hear your blood pulsating in your veins. She will be able to hear it either way but it won’t distract her as much if you are calm.”
Vampire one-o-one, she would need to know all these things if she was going to keep the company of the living dead. She nodded and had her back turned against him again. Staring at Vincent she wondered how nothing ever seemed to bother him for long, he was like a child offer him a sweet and he forgets the booboo he just got.
Stephan released her and headed for the door, she hadn’t heard anyone knock. Solara and Kayla stood on the other side of the door holding hands. She was hesitant at first but after a slight tug from Solara, she entered the house.
“I thought vampires had to be invited in.” Scarlet was determined to make this as easy as possible and what better way to do it than to make fun of the situation they were in. She only hoped that Kayla understood what she was getting at and not get hurt by her attempt of cracking a joke. Kayla didn’t react immediately.
With one fluid movement, she had the glass of water Scarlet had cradled earlier in her hand and threw it at her. Stephan pulled her away but not before some of it had caught her shirt.
“And I thought water melted witches.” Kayla looked at Scarlet a smile creeping on her face. “Nope, that doesn’t work either. So I guess those theories are a bust.” She was chuckling now.
Scarlet could see the difference between the Kayla that tried to kill her to the one that stood before her now. She also saw the similarities between the Kayla before Solara and this one. They were the same. Stephan was right the only thing that had changed was her new lease on life and her diet. Other than that she was still the sarcastic girl she loved. She realized that everyone else in the room was still tense but she didn’t care about that. Kayla was back to her old self.
“Can I hug you please?” She was pleading now, the desperation in her voice evident. She looked to and fro Solara and Stephan she knew it was up to them to agree. Kayla knew that as much as she wanted to embrace her friend she would have to wait for them to okay it, especially Stephan.
Scarlet understood how she felt but unlike her, she didn’t need permission to hold her friend. Even if they knew it was too soon she didn’t care their opinion didn’t matter that much to her. She took a step towards her and realized that Stephan had moved with her. She would allow it but only if he didn’t crowd them, this was their moment.
Kayla lifted her arms to hug her and Stephan lifted his to restrain her. One look from Scarlet and his arms dropped instead he moved closer to them. Scarlet took a deep breath before leaning into the embrace. She had to remember to stay calm, to relax her whole body and the pace of her heart. The calmer she was the better for Kayla.
They held each other for a few seconds when Kayla whispered in her ear.
“I love you Scar.” Scarlet tightened her embrace she didn’t want to let go. “By the way, you smell tasty.” They laughed before breaking the embrace. Apart from Vincent, the other two guys didn’t find her comment amusing. It didn’t matter to them so they ignored them.
“My neck is off-limits, by the way, my head too.” She pointed a finger at Solara.
Vincent leaped in between them and gathered them in his arms. “So who’s up for lunch huh?” Stephan growled under his breath and Vincent retreated to a corner his hands raised in front of him an act of surrender.
They had a lot to catch up on, the two girls sat on the sofa with Vincent when the guys stood hovering over them. As uncomfortable as it was Scarlet, knew it was a necessary evil and she would have to tolerate it. She was eager to hear about the time they had spent apart. She was not particularly interested in the transformation part but she would listen if Kayla decided to talk about it.
Kayla told her about everything, she even talked about it before she had seen Scarlet. She apologized for attacking her and tried to explain what was going through her mind and body when she did.
Scarlet decided to change the subject, she didn’t want the happy mood to be destroyed. “So Vincent tells me that you have a special talent, do tell.”
Yeah, it’s kind of awesome.
It sounded like she had said it out loud but she hadn’t spoken at all. She glanced at Stephan he didn’t seem to have heard anything but Solara and Vincent were smiling now.
“Didn’t I tell you it’s phenomenal? Do the other thing.” Vincent’s excitement was infecting her. She was eager to know what it was, she wondered if it was something cool like shooting fire out of her eyes. It was ridiculous but at that moment she didn’t doubt that anything was possible.
“No definitely not, I think only Clark Kent has the fire from the eyes thing pegged down. I read minds and put my thoughts into other people’s minds. Shooting fire from the eyes.” She laughed at how ridiculous it sounded. “You need a time out from all this, seems your losing your mind.”
“How comes Stephan couldn’t hear you?” Scarlet was curious every one else seemed to have heard her as clear as day.
“I have a shield that protects my mind from intrusion,” Scarlet remembered the night he had her floating around her room. She didn’t think that he used it to protect his mind too.
Scarlet knew Kayla’s talent would come in handy, they could have silent conversations without anyone interrupting. Everyone except Solara of course. They would have to have their conversations when he wasn’t around but that seemed impossible since he was glued to Kayla’s side. She needed to talk to her, get advice from her about Stephan.
They were still holding hands on the sofa when the guys went into the kitchen. Scarlet appreciated the privacy that they had subtly given them. She needed time alone with her friend, they hadn’t seen each other for six weeks and they needed the time alone. She was about to tell her about what she was thinking about before they had arrived. But she wasn’t sure how Solara could pick it up if she thought about it and would immediately tell Stephan. There was no point in whispering because they could hear the fat man down the street snoring. She decided to wait for a more appropriate time.
Kayla seemed to be paying attention to the conversation taking place in the next room. “Boys in case you forget I can hear just as perfectly as the three of you. So I suggest you bring that conversation in here. We both have a part in this.”
Solara was the first to give in he shuffled his feet and stood in the middle of the living room, the others followed him shortly.
Scarlet was getting worried the ride was not over yet. She leaned forward her chin in her hands. “What’s going on now?”
“Mike called me this morning, he saw something again concerning Stephan.” He was talking to everyone in the room. “He says that the hunters are close and that it’s going to get messy.” He looked at Scarlet she was the weakest link in the room and she would need to be protected.
“Messy? What does he mean by messy?” Scarlet was on her feet she was worried about what he meant. She directed the question to Stephan, Solara was not answering her. They all were ignoring her and it was infuriating her.
***
“We need to come up with a plan of some sort. Did he happen to tell you how many they were?” Stephan was concerned he knew that if it came to a battle they could lose.
But he hoped that the Conselho didn’t send more than hunters that they could handle. Being hugely outnumbered would only result in a loss on their part. He thought that since he was the only one being hunted for it would be a number they could handle. Kayla as an addition to their team was a huge advantage and the fact that she was still so young was even better. She was stronger and could be ruthless especially when it was Scarlet in danger.
“Can someone please answer me? What is going on?” Scarlet was still trying to be included in the conversation. Stephan wrapped his arm around her and drew her to his side.
“Hush babe.” He didn’t want to explain to her that her life was in danger she had enough to deal with.
“Just because I’m the only person who is living in this room doesn’t mean I should get shut out. So someone better answer me.” She was furious now, just because she was not an immortal she would not allow them to treat her like a child.
“I’m sorry, we just don’t want to worry you. Do you remember I told you there were hunters sent after me? Well, they are getting close and this Mike guy says that it will turn bloody. Some of us could die and considering only four of us can face them it’s not good.” She was holding on to his arm almost sorry she had asked.
“He says he only saw six of them. The devil travels in sixes, doesn’t he? Anyway, I think we can take them. Kayla can watch Scarlet, Vincent and I can take one each and you can have the rest.” Scarlet shot him a murdering eye.
“What! This guy is the super immortal or hasn’t he shared that with you yet.”
Solara was telling the truth. Stephan could do the heavy lifting. He would need to power up to do so. Considering it was the fight of his life he would need to take some human blood so would Solara and Vincent. The beast part of him was not always reliable, there was always a blind spot. He was not going to let them get past him to hurt her or take him away from her. But he didn’t think that she would be comfortable with that he may have to do without it.
“Vincent, what do you think?” Stephan knew he was the only one apart from him who knew their tactics. He needed all the input he could get and his background as a hunter would serve them well.
“At the moment I think it’s a good thing they don’t know that you are with a human. They could have used that against you. So she should not be around when they do come, they could go somewhere else. I say this because I think Kayla can handle herself well enough to serve as her sister’s keeper.” He looked at Kayla there was no doubt that she would be able to protect Scarlet long enough for them to neutralize the threat.
“I think the fact that we know they are coming is already an advantage. We should wait for them to come here before the girls can make a run for it. We don’t want to risk them following their scent elsewhere they will be without us knowing about it.”
“Mike didn’t give me much of a timeline. I’m guessing it’s this month because in his vision the leaves were on the ground. So that’s autumn and it ends this month doesn’t it. We don’t have much time, so whatever we are planning needs to be done now.”