Dark Descent (Vampire Hunter Book 5) (5 page)

BOOK: Dark Descent (Vampire Hunter Book 5)
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Chapter 10

Nicholas insisted
on taking me home even though I begged him to let me go check on Henry. “Lucas
has it under control,” was all he would say.

I was stuck back
at my house, waiting. I had texted Lucas but all he said about Henry’s
condition was that we’d know tomorrow morning.

It was beyond
frustrating. So when my dad knocked on my bedroom door and offered to take me
for a driving lesson, I jumped at the chance.

“We were thinking
of getting your mom a new car and giving you hers,” he’d told me. “And you’re
seventeen now. You don’t want to keep relying on your friends to take you
everywhere.”

My two friends?
 Well, four if you counted Nicholas and Emmett.

“You’ll probably
need a car when you go away to college,” he had added. I’d pretended I didn’t
hear him.

For the next
couple of hours, I drove around the empty parking lot of my school. Dad seemed
surprised that I was so comfortable driving the car.  I had been forced to
drive Lucas’ car under extreme stress when the twins had given him human blood,
so I already kind of knew what I was doing.

Dad wouldn’t let
me go out on the road since I didn’t technically have my license, or even my
permit yet. “A couple more times practicing and you should be ready to take the
test,” he said when we were headed home.

“Sounds good.
Thanks for taking the time to teach me,” I told him.

“I’m never too
busy for you. Is…everything okay, Aurora?” Dad asked.

“What do you
mean?” I said, even though I knew exactly what he meant. I had been distant
with my entire family since I came back.

I could tell that
my dad was looking at me out of the corner of his eye. “I know you’ve always
been closer to your mother than to me, so I haven’t been as concerned about how
quiet you are, about the hours you spend in your room every day. But your mom
mentioned that you barely speak to her anymore.”

“It’s nothing,” I
said, trying to make my voice sound normal. “She’s being paranoid. We talk all
the time! I’m just really into high school, reconnecting with all my old
friends.”
Yeah, right.

Relief washed over
my dad’s face. “Great! You should bring your friends over sometime. Or maybe
your mother could take you all out shopping one day. Or have a girls’ spa day?”

“Maybe,” I said
noncommittally.

Mom wasn’t
getting answers, so she asked Dad to snoop.

But it was okay.
Much as I loved my dad, he wasn’t nearly as clued in as Mom. It was easier to
field his questions. He took whatever I said at face value.

When we got back
to the house, my mother was waiting, wanting to know how my driving lesson
went.

“It was great!” I
said enthusiastically before running up the stairs to my bedroom.

When I reached the
door of my room, I paused to see if I could hear my parents speaking.

 “She said
she’s fine,” my dad said in a low voice. I strained to listen.

“She tells me that
every time I try to talk to her, too.” Mom was speaking now. “But you saw how
she ran up to her room. She wouldn’t have said a word if I hadn’t asked her how
the lesson went!”

“I think you’re
overreacting, Audrey. She’s a normal teenage girl. It was inevitable that she
was going to become more independent, less interested in spending time with her
parents.”

Thanks, Dad.

“Well, I’m not
going to back down on this.” Mom’s voice again.

Shit.

“I think we should
consider therapy – family or individual – Aurora’s choice.”

That doesn’t
sound good
.

Ugh.
I
would worry about it later. Right now, I was way too stressed out about Henry.
If he pulled through, I’d try to focus on rebuilding my relationship with my
family. And if he didn’t…well, losing my best friend would surely make my mom
back off.

I continued into
my room, not interested in the rest of my parent’s conversation. For the
umpteenth time, I checked my phones – the secure one and my regular phone.
No messages on either. And it was only six p.m.! How the hell was I going to
make it until tomorrow morning?

But I knew I
didn’t have a choice. Whatever his reasons were for keeping me away, I had to
trust Lucas. He would do everything to make sure Henry recovered from this.
Right?

Chapter 11

It wasn’t until five
the next morning that Lucas called me. I answered the phone, which I had been
clutching the entire night, immediately.

“Lucas, please
tell me you have good news,” I hissed.

“I have good
news.” Lucas sounded exhausted. “Henry’s going to be okay, Aurora.”

I resisted the
urge to squeal and jump up and down. I didn’t want to wake my family. “That’s
wonderful!” I exclaimed, trying to keep my voice down. “When can I see him? Is
he awake?”

“He’s drifting in
and out of sleep. Mumbling some, but I can’t understand what he’s saying. The
fever has broken, and he’s getting more and more lucid with each dose of the
antidote,” Lucas said.

“Thank you so
much,” I said. I was drowning in relief. This was the best news I could ever
have hoped for! Henry was going to survive.

“Can I come see
him now?” I asked.

“Won’t your parents
wonder where you went at the crack of dawn?” Lucas countered. “Besides, I can’t
come pick you up. I have to stay with Henry. He would probably be alright alone
for a little while, but I don’t feel comfortable trying that yet.”

“No, I agree,” I
said. “I could run there – super fast.”

“Absolutely not.”
Lucas voice was firm; he wasn’t going to budge.

“The twins are
dead, remember? And
I
killed them. Haven’t I proven I can take care of
myself?” I really wanted to see Henry, to hug him and tell him how sorry I was
for almost getting him turned into a vampire.

“Sorry, Rory.
Remember what I told you about taking risks? I have no doubt you can fend for
yourself, but that would be a stupid risk. I’m not just being protective; I’m
being smart. I’m still around, after all these years, because I
stopped
taking
stupid risks. I can’t guarantee you aren’t being watched or followed. All I can
guarantee is that your calls are no longer being monitored.”

“Fine,” I said.
“What time can you pick me up then?”

“Not for a few
hours. Just try to relax. I’ll call you when I can come and get you.” And with
that, Lucas hung up the phone.

I resisted the
urge to throw my phone across the room. Lucas could be so annoying sometimes.
And then an idea started to form in my mind.

I had shown my
father that I was a good driver yesterday afternoon. He’d been surprised by how
quickly I’d gotten used to the pedals and the way the car reacted. I could take
Mom’s car, drive to Lucas’ so I could see for myself that Henry was almost
recovered, and get back here before anyone else was awake. It was a great plan.
And surely Lucas couldn’t say I’d taken a “stupid risk” if I were in a car. I’d
be protected.

Pleased with my
idea, I crept downstairs to turn off the house alarm. My parent’s car keys were
hanging on a small hook by the door. I grabbed my mom’s and quietly exited the
house.

I was a little
concerned that someone might hear me start the car, but there was nothing to do
about it. My mom was already adding up all of the reasons to send me to
therapy; what would one more matter?

I started the car,
put it in reverse and lightly tapped the gas. At least, I thought it was light.
The car lurched backwards. I slammed on the brakes and was jolted forward when
the car abruptly stopped.

Come on,
Aurora. You can do this.

It wasn’t so bad, actually,
once I got the hang of it. I reversed out of the driveway and headed to Lucas’
apartment, being very careful not to speed (even though I really wanted to). Driving
without a license was a straight trip to juvenile detention. Or maybe to the
police station downtown. I didn’t know which, and I wasn’t anxious to find out.

I would simply
knock on the door and surprise Lucas; surely he wouldn’t turn me away.

“Aurora, what the
hell are you doing here?” he exclaimed when he opened the door. “I told you not
to walk here! I thought I could trust you. Are you asking for something
else
bad to happen? Haven’t you had enough after yesterday?”

He ushered me
inside the apartment. “I borrowed my mom’s car,” I said. “It’s cool. I’ve had a
bunch of lessons. I just forgot to tell you.”

Lucas looked at me
suspiciously. “And your mom knows you borrowed her car?”

I didn’t answer. I
was too busy studying Henry. I sat down on the floor, briefly registering that
Lucas had in fact gotten all of the blood out of the carpet. “Henry,” I
whispered. His color had almost returned to normal, and his breathing was
strong.

“His fever is
gone,” Lucas said. “That’s why I knew he was going to be okay.”

“Thanks for
letting me know,” I replied. “And I’m sorry to barge in like this; I just had
to see for myself.”

“How was your, um,
meeting earlier?” Lucas asked.

“Unbelievable,” I
said. “Emmett got drunk, for starters.”

“What?” Lucas
asked in disbelief. He laughed. “I guess he needed some serious stress relief.
He’s okay now?”

“Yes.” I didn’t
say anything about Rachel or the real reason Emmett was drinking.

Lucas walked into
the kitchen and motioned for me to follow him. “Can you tell me what Emmett
said?” he asked in a low voice.

“Some of it,” I
replied. “I should warn you, you’re not going to like this new plan of his. But
even Nicholas agreed it was the only way.”

“What dangerous
thing does it involve you doing this time?” he asked warily.

“We have to set a
trap. Emmett says we can push Tobias and Magnus into Hell, then seal the Gates
of Hell shut. Forever.”

“That won’t work,”
Lucas said immediately. “There’s no way to seal the gates.”

“Nicholas said the
same thing. But Emmett swears that Henry can do it,” I replied.

 “What can
Henry do?” came a weak voice from the couch.

“Henry!” I
exclaimed, rushing to his side. His eyes were open, but he looked out of it.

“Aurora,” he said.
He reached his hand out towards me and ran his fingers lightly over my arm.

“I’m so glad
you’re okay,” I told him. “Don’t try to talk. Just rest. We can fill you in on
everything later.”

“I was bitten,
wasn’t I?” Henry asked, still stroking my arm. “Am I a vampire?”

“No,” I said with
a nervous laugh. “But you almost were.”

“Who saved me?”
Henry wanted to know.

“Aurora did,”
Lucas said. He had come out of the kitchen and was standing by the couch.

“How?” Henry
asked.

“I’ll fill you in on
all the gory details later. Right now, you need to rest,” I said.

“And you,” Henry
said to Lucas, “you were giving me shots, right?”

“Yes, you were
poisoned by the bite, and the antidote is what saved you,” Lucas replied.

“Thank you,” Henry
whispered. His eyelids fluttered. He was struggling to keep his eyes open.

“Please, rest,” I
said again. But I didn’t need to talk him into it. I could tell by his
breathing that Henry had drifted back to sleep.

“How does Emmett
propose we send them both to Hell?” Lucas asked, getting back to our
conversation.

I explained that
I’d have to meet with Tobias, carefully leaving out all references to Henry’s
father, just in case he could hear us.

“I don’t like the
sound of this,” Lucas said. “There has to be another way.”

“Oh, Tobias is an
idiot. He’ll be easy to talk to,” I said nonchalantly.

Lucas gave me a
look like I’d just grown another head. “An idiot, yes,” he conceded. “But a
powerful idiot.”

“Well, there’s no
other way,” I said defiantly.

Lucas walked to
the opposite end of the room. He opened his mouth to say something, but then
shut it. Instead, he lowered himself to the floor and stretched his long legs
out, leaning his back against the wall.

“I give up,” he
said. Lucas looked exhausted. But of course he had been awake for nearly
twenty-four hours. It was easy to forget the impact of no sleep.

“What do you
mean?” I demanded.

“Do what you
like!” Lucas said irritably. He closed his eyes.

“I’d like for you
to support me,” I shot back.

“Really, Aurora,
I’m too tired to argue. I hate this idea, but I don’t have another solution,
either. I know if – when – we go through with the plan, I can’t be
there to protect you. At least when you went to Tobias’ meeting, I knew
Nicholas would keep you safe. And when we met with Magnus, I was there.”

“If you’ve got
another idea, then I’m all ears,” I said quietly. “Otherwise, I have to do
this. The fate of the world kind of depends on it.”

Lucas gave me a
sad smile. “You should go home, before your mom realizes you, um,
borrowed
,
her car.”

“My parents are
already pissed at me. What’s one more thing? You look like you could use some
rest. Why not let me take care of Henry while you sleep?” I suggested.

“No, he still
needs a couple more doses of the antidote.”

“I can do it,” I offered.
“I gave myself that shot before the meeting. Needles don’t bother me…anymore.”

“No,” Lucas
repeated. “I’m going to see this through. Stay if you want – if you think
you won’t be in deep shit with your parents – or go home. The choice is
yours.”

“Well, even though
my parents are being a real pain, it could get worse,” I admitted. “Like if
they ground me. Can you imagine if Magnus tried to arrange another meeting and
I couldn’t go because I was grounded? ‘I’m sorry, former King of Hell, I can’t
meet you because my parents have forbidden me to leave the house,’” I said in a
mock serious voice.

We both laughed.
It was so insane, so ridiculous.

“I guess I’ll go
then,” I said reluctantly.

“Do you feel
comfortable driving home?” Lucas asked.

“Yeah,” I replied.

Lucas pulled
himself up from his seat on the floor to walk me out. “I can come pick you up
when Henry’s better,” he offered.

“Thanks.” I turned
to Lucas. “Tell me, why wouldn’t you let me stay here last night? And why did
you and Nicholas need to talk privately?”

Lucas glanced back
at Henry, who was still sleeping soundly, and stepped outside his apartment,
motioning for me to follow. He shut the door behind us.

“Remember when you
asked me turn Henry?” he said quietly.

I nodded.

“I don’t know if
it would have killed him, but I was considering trying it if the antidote
didn’t work.”

“Really?” I was
taken aback. Lucas was adamant about not turning humans.

“Yes, really. I
asked Nicholas if he thought it was a terrible idea. He confirmed that it was.”
Lucas laughed. “But then he said to do what I had to do.”

“You could have
told me,” I said.

“I wasn’t sure
what I was going to do,” Lucas admitted. “I was on the fence. Part of me was
dead set against it, but another part felt like I couldn’t let Henry die.”

“I’m glad it
didn’t come to that,” I said.

“Me, too. It was
touch and go for a while there. It’s been one hell of a night.”

“And it’s all
because of my stupidity. You warned me over and over.”

“It is what it
is,” Lucas said lightly. “Anyway, you should get going. I promise I will pick
you up and bring you here later, when I feel okay about leaving Henry home
alone.” Lucas gave me a playful push. “Now go.”

I smiled. “Thanks
for everything, Lucas.” I leaned forward and hugged him.

“Anytime.”

Lucas stepped back
into his apartment and I turned to leave. I glanced at my phone. I’d been gone
an hour.
I really hope my parents haven’t noticed, or I will be in deep
shit.

BOOK: Dark Descent (Vampire Hunter Book 5)
3.23Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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