Betrayal 2012 (18 page)

“Ten?” I gasped.  There had to have been at least three times that many living here just a few hours ago.

“Yes.  Ten.  Six humans, three protectors, and me.”

“Jesus,” Graham breathed and ran another hand through his head.  “We need to get out of here.”  He began pressing buttons on his phone again.

“Mistress Eviana?” Malcolm had edged closer to me.  “What’s going to happen to us now?”

The question kind of caught me off guard.  “Wouldn’t you like to live on your own?”

He shook his head.  “Maybe the humans would, but the protectors and I don’t know what else we would do.  This is all we know.”  The sadness in his eyes nearly made me cry again and before I could stop myself, I had a solution.

“Then come home with me.”

“Really?” 

“Yes.  We’re all going to need more protection and there is no reason for you to stay here.”  He lurched forward and grabbed me in a hug.

“Thank you.”  He squeezed me for a while.  “I’m going to go tell the others.”  Before I could stop him, he was gone.  Graham stared at me from the doorway.

“You invited him to your home?”

“Yes.  He and the protectors still alive.  They have nowhere else to go.”

“Huh,” he grunted while scrutinizing me with his eyes.  “You really are something else.”  I ignored him and asked a more pressing question. 

“What do we do about the humans?”

“The team will erase their memories and patch them up.”  He gave me a sarcastic glare.  “Unless you invited them to California too?”

I rolled my eyes.  “No.”  But maybe I should.  Would having their memories erased really be the right thing to do?  Although bringing them back with me into what certainly was going to be a war, really didn’t seem like the best idea either.

“Our ride will be here in an hour,” Graham continued.  “We should collect what we can and let the clean-up crew handle the rest.” 

I nodded in agreement as he trudged up the stairs towards his room.  I didn’t really want to pack when all of these people around me had just lost their lives.  Something about it seemed wrong.  It wasn’t fair that I lived and they didn’t.  It’s wasn’t fair that my friend Lily had been killed simply because she was a mermaid.  So much death.

I slid to the floor, momentarily frozen with grief.  I thought of my parents, especially my mother.  The way Lucian had snapped her neck so coldly and methodically…it ripped my heart out.  I began to cry and once the tears started, I couldn’t stop them if I tried.  Thankfully, everyone left me alone and gave me the privacy I needed.  I cried for my parents, my friend, Jeremiah, and all of the protectors that lost their lives tonight.

At some point the tears stopped and I forced myself to collect my belongings for the trip back home.  My cell phone was buzzing with messages, but I didn’t want to talk to anyone else right now.  I just needed a little more time before I dealt with the world.

“Are you ready?”  Graham’s soft voice asked from my opened door.

“Almost.”

He stepped inside and sat on my bed, watching me as I packed up the final pieces of clothes.  “They are going to fly us to the airport and then we’ll start home.”

“Where are you going?”

“To Seattle for now,” he replied and something in me felt relieved.  I was attracted to Graham and tonight’s experiences only made that stronger.  But I was glad that he wasn’t going to California where Brendan would eventually be.  Plus, I needed to stay away from Graham Forrester.

“For now?”

“Until they decide their next move.”  He sighed and looked out the bedroom door.  “I’m going to tell them that we have to meet with Lucian.”

I was surprised.  “You are?”

“Yes.  I think that you were right before.  If it stops more deaths, then we should at least meet with him and hear him out.”

I stood there in shock for a little bit.  “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” he huffed.  “I’m also going to tell them that you should be there as well. After all, he’s personally requested your presence.”

“Do you know why that is?”

He shook his head.  “No idea.  Perhaps you’ve intrigued him, too?”  His eyes sparkled when he looked up at me and I quickly averted my gaze back to my suitcase.

“I’m really not that special.”

“Some would beg to differ,” he replied nonchalantly.  I had nothing more to say to that comment and after several moments of silence, he stood.  “They should be here soon, so I will see you downstairs, okay tart?”

“Yeah.”  Even his nickname for me couldn’t elicit a reaction.  I was numb right now and getting out of this house was probably the best for all of us.

Just before sunrise, a helicopter landed in the front yard.  The clean-up crew had arrived along with our ride to the airport. 

When I panicked in a plane, I was being silly.  My fear of airplanes was nothing compared to my newly discovered fear of being in a helicopter.  It felt like a roller coaster, only we were several thousand feet in the air.  When I saw the skyscrapers and metropolis of Washington, D.C. in the distance, my heart calmed down because I knew that we were almost there.

Two private jets were waiting for us courtesy of the Council and Graham’s insistence that we needed privacy in order to conduct our business.  At the hanger, Graham pulled me aside just as I was about to board.

“Is is alright if I call you?”  I arched my brows at him.  “I might need you to help convince the Council that our plan will work.”

“Our plan?”

“Meeting with Lucian,” he waved his hand around.  “They may not totally believe me and might want to speak with you to confirm.”  I nodded in understanding.

“Yes, that will be fine.”

“Good.”  He shifted nervously on his feet and looked at the plane behind me.

“Is there something else?” I asked.

He smiled and I melted again.  “No.  Just be safe, okay tart.  I will see you again soon.” 

He bent down and kissed me full on the lips before pulling away and jogging towards his plane on the other side of the hanger.  I stood there following him with my gaze.  His lips were just as soft as I imagined.  I sighed with disappointment.  Perhaps in another life we would be better suited for each other.  But now just wasn’t the time.

I tried to convince myself of that for the entire five hour plane ride back to my home.  Keeping my mind occupied, I called my sister to tell her that I was on my way.  She wasn’t up yet since it was only early dawn on the east coast.  I left her a message and called our driver so that he would know when to pick me up.

The night had been so devastating both physically and mentally, I was surprised when I fell asleep somewhere over Ohio.  When we landed, I made the introductions to my new companions and Jeffery, my driver, smiled and welcomed them to the family.  I was happy to see that they would be all right, but I really didn’t know if I could say that about the rest of us.  There was so much work to do when I got to the house.  So many calls to make.  So much training to accomplish.  The thought of it made my mind spin and I reluctantly tried to enjoy the last few moments of peace I suspected I would have for a long time.

Thirteen

When we arrived, my sister came barreling out of the house and nearly fell into my arms.  At first I thought that something was wrong, but then I noticed the smile on her face. 

“Marisol, what’s going on?”

“You have to come and see!”  She was so excited and it was really the first time that I’d seen her like that since before my parents died.  Well, really, I never saw her happy.  She was such an angry teenager.

She pulled me through the front door, past the kitchen, and over to the edge of the deck.  Daniel was standing there and greeted me with a hug and a smile that matched my sister’s.  “Okay you two, what’s going on?”

“Look!” Marisol cried and pointed down towards the beach.  When I followed her gaze, I was overwhelmed with what I saw.  Our beachfront property had been turned into a training ground.  Several dozen protectors were sparring with others dressed in regular attire.  I was about to ask who they were, when one of them caught my eye.

“Is that Julian?”

Daniel laughed.  “Oh yeah.  That’s him.”  I turned to look at my friend who seemed to have gotten over his fear of the selkie.  “What?  Sure he captured us, but then he saved us.  Plus, just look at him.”  Julian was sparring with one of the biggest protectors I had ever seen.  And Daniel was totally ogling him.  I elbowed my friend in the side.

“Close your mouth.”  I said and Marisol giggled.  “Geez, Daniel.  He’s old enough to be your father.”

“Or my sugar-daddy.”

“Gross.  Enough.”  But I couldn’t hide my smile.  I looked at Marisol.  “And what’s got you so happy?”

She grinned and pointed again.  “Julian didn’t come by himself.  Look at all of the selkies he brought.”

“Marisol’s been eyeing that young one down there.  He seems to be equally enamored with her,” Daniel added, but I wasn’t listening.  Because if Julian brought other selkies, than that would mean…

“Brendan,” I whispered just as I spotted him flip Palmer over his back and pin him to the ground.  As though he heard me, he looked up and met my eyes.  I couldn’t breathe.  My heart stuttered and I sucked in a breath.  He was shirtless and sweaty.  His dark hair was hanging loose around his face.  And even from the distance, I could see those green eyes that meant the world to me.  “He came.”

This time Daniel elbowed me.  “He did.  And he’s been waiting for you to get back.”  I looked at my friend with hope.

“He has?”

“Yes,” Marisol cut in and then sighed.  “I didn’t get it before, but now I do.”

“What?”  I wrinkled my face.  “What are you talking about?”

“She means
love
,” Daniel teased and Marisol glared.  “Your sister has had a change of heart since
Quinlan
appeared.  Or maybe I should say that she finally grew a heart.”  He jumped away just in time to avoid Marisol’s slap.

“Who’s Quinlan?” I asked.

“The red headed guy.  I asked Julian if he was even allowed to be up past curfew, but he assured me that he was eighteen and quite capable of handling himself,” Daniel answered.

“Marisol, he’s eighteen!  That’s too old for you.”

“It’s three and a half years.  The same as you and Brendan.”  She did have a point.  Who was I to tell her not to follow her heart?

 “Just…be careful, okay?”  She huffed and crossed her arms in defiance.  I was about to say more, but then I noticed Brendan walking towards the stairs that led up to the deck.  He was coming this way.

“Come on, Mars.  Let’s go down on the beach and watch these sweaty boys beat each other senseless.”  Daniel wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her away, while she berated him for using that nickname.  I didn’t know what happened over the last few days, but I was grateful that Daniel bonded with her.

They passed Brendan on the stairs and he smiled politely.   That smile.  My entire body was shaking before he got to me.