Death (10 page)

Egypt 2012

"What do you think?"

I scan the desert and nod, "I think if we can get him to
come to us we'll have a better chance of saving some of the women." I pace
back and forth in the sand. I look back at Ari and scowl, "I hate sand.
These boots are new."

She laughs and lifts her DC sneakers, "Try these on for
sand walking. I've got more in my shoe than is in the whole damned
desert."

My phone beeps. I sigh and pull it out, 'get here now' it says
with a picture of a dark alley.

"Giselle."

Ari looks at me and nods, "Great. Not again."

I look back at the house belonging to the piece of shit
vampires, who are running a drug blood service, and growl. I put my hand out.
Ari takes it and we're in the alley. My boots click against the cold cement. I
still smile at how strong they make me feel. How I feel just like superwoman in
them. We round the corner of the alley. Giselle is standing over the body of a
man.

His leather shoe is twitching. I put my hands over my face and
look at her. She shakes her head. Her face is devastatingly beautiful under the
dim streetlights.

"Did you come after?"

She nods, "I was hunting and I smelled him. When I got
here he fled and the man was too far."

Ari looks closer, "He's still alive."

"Duh." Giselle pulls her thick black hair back and
crosses her arms over her cute lime green pea coat. "Dude. Of course he's
still alive. I just ate. I figured Aimes could have this one."

Ari looks pissed, "You let him live and suffer till we
got here?"

Giselle takes a step towards her "Don’t be such a whore.
I was being, like, thoughtful and shit. God."

I laugh and shake my head. I walk to the dying man and crouch
down. I grip his arm where his expensive watch sits and let my power loose.
Giselle would have gotten nothing from him but I eat differently. I don’t need
there to be a lot of life force or emotion the way she does. I just need the
soul to leave the body. I shiver and gasp as his soul slips from him.

I pull off his watch and take his wallet. "Tragedy of the
city." I whisper. I feel sick. Shane and I haven’t gotten along since he
was turned. His blood lust is too much for me. His friendship with Marcus is
way too much for me. The dead man below me is his way of bending the Roses
rules. The man broke one of the Ten Commandments no doubt, making him fair game
for Marcus and Shane. I hate what Marcus has taught him. As long as they don’t
kill an innocent, we can't touch them.

"So, we gonna tell Lorri?" Ari flashes me a
sarcastic look.

I glance at Giselle, who is twirling her hair. It makes me
miss my sister for a moment, "No." I sigh, "Him and Marcus will
have a reason for his death."

Giselle nods, "They always do. They always find the bad
humans. I never get that lucky. I thought I had one the other day. He was
dragging some little kid down an alley but then I grabbed him and he had a
priest robe on and the white collar thingy." She motions where her throat
is. "So I knew he wasn’t bad. The damn probably was though."

"You know priests aren’t all good right?" I ask,
almost speechless. Ari's eye shift funny at the comment.

Giselle shrugs, "I know. He just was kinda hot and so I
knew he was a good one. Anyway, I don’t get how Shane always finds the bad
ones."

Ari rolls her eyes, "Dude, they probably compelled them
to do the bad shit and then ate them."

A flash of understanding whips across Giselle's face, "Oh
my god, do you think? Wow that’s pretty smart actually."

Ari stares at her blankly, "Don't even think about
it."

Giselle smirks, "Hey, I don’t need to compel them. I've
learned how to do it so I don’t have to take it all. I haven't killed anyone in
like six months. It's not the same but at least my record is clean. Lorri is
such a nag about the humans dying."

Ari's head turns, "You smell that?"

I've already got the scent. "Hands in." We flash
just as hellhounds round the corner of the alleyway.

I stalk across Lydia's grass and open the front door,
"This is so messed up."

I glance back at Ari who scowls and pouts.

I ask, "What can we do about him?"

She shakes her head, "I really thought that when he
turned into one of us, he would be a Rose."

My insides ache, "Yeah well, you're not responsible for
the fact he and Marcus have a bromance of doom. No one saw that coming."

I smile the minute I enter the kitchen. Sam is sitting at the
counter. He and Giselle and Ari and Ben are my saving grace in the world we
live in.

Sam grins, "Hey."

I sit next to him and nudge him, "What have you been up
to?"

He blushes and shakes his head, "Not much. You
know."

Ari grins, "Spying on Hanna?"

His eyes dart at her, "What? No."

We all laugh. Giselle sits across from him and grabs his
hands. She closes her eyes and moans, "God, I love you."

He pulls back and frowns, "Stop doing that." She
flashes him a gorgeous smile, "Sammy, it's just a little sip of the
Siren."

He wrinkles his nose, "It feels violating and
wrong."

We laugh at him.

Giselle rolls her eyes, "Boys can't be violated."

He looks aghast. So does Ari.

The air swirls warm and the icy blue eyes are the first thing
I see. My stomach twinges whenever I see Aleks.

He smiles sweetly, but the haunted look in his eyes is still
there. It never leaves.

With his father trapped in a dungeon under Marcus's massive
castle, Aleksander gets no joy. He used to live on the emotions and healing
from the families of his father's victims. Now he has nothing to sustain him.

Giselle beams at him, "Hey sexy."

He blushes and shakes his head, "You say that to
everyone."

She winks, "Doesn’t mean I don’t mean it when I do."

Ari frowns at her, "Keep it in your pants. God, you're
the worst Succubus ever."

Giselle sticks her tongue out.

Sam shakes his head, "No, I met one who was worse. She
tackled this Siren, I knew in Greece, to the ground and sucked her dry right in
public. It was sick. Giselle at least only takes a little."

"Gross." Ari winkles her nose.

I look back at Aleksander and tilt my head, "What's going
on?"

He leans on the huge counter and shakes his head, "We go
for Ophelia today."

I lick my lips, "Today?"

We've been planning it for almost two years. Ophelia is the
start. The catalyst of the beginning of the end.

I had noticed Lorri was feistier than normal and Lydia has
been running around like a chicken with her head cut off.

"She knows us all though right? She remembers the way it
was before?"

Ari looks down. She always does when we talk about before. She
still regrets turning back the time. I look at Sam, who is like a brother to me
and know she made the right choice. I couldn’t imagine living in a world where
he didn’t exist.

Aleksander shakes his head, "No. She doesn’t remember us.
She was wiped the day they realized Ari had changed the time. Dorian went and
wiped her, Tristan and Phillip. Oliver was wiped by Marcus and Henry. Everyone
had to play out the parts the same as last time. Jonathan couldn’t be privy to
the way things had worked out. Dorian and Marcus and Henry had a lot of mind
wiping and clean up to do apparently."

Ari's cheeks are bright red.

Sam reaches across the table and grabs her hand, "Thanks
for not leaving me behind."

She smiles.

"My sister, my dad, my mom, Sam, and the kids are all
fine because of you." I smile.

Aleksander's eyes widen, "Ari, I never meant to hurt your
feelings. Sorry. I know you saved me once."

She shakes her head, "I just hate that somehow there is
always a glitch. Something gets taken or screwed up because of the reset."

Giselle stands and walks toward Aleksander, "Okay, so
what's the deal with Ophelia? What are we doing?"

His eyes creep over to me. I frown, "What?"

"It's me and you and Sam going for her." He says.

I look at Sam and smile, "You're the bait I guess
huh?"

Aleksander laughs. I know he's bait too. They smell too good
to women. Sam is especially bad. In this world he hasn’t fallen in love with
Hanna yet. Not in the way that tones down his Siren side. He has moments where
he's unbearable to be around.

High-heeled boots interrupt the momentary silence.

Lorri storms in with Dorian right behind her. He flashes a
grin at me, making heat stir low in my belly. I know I'm blushing, but I keep
my eyes down.

"We leave in an hour for Ophelia. Today is the day. The
sisters came to Annabelle earlier." She glances at Sam and cocks a dark
eyebrow, "I told you to stay away from Hanna. She's made it without
turning into her father. Thank God in Heaven. Dorian brainwashed her aunt and
uncle and I convinced Marcus to give the cure to her dad. We all know it's
temporary, but it's better this way." Her lips curled into a twisted grin
on the word convinced. I shuddered imagining it. I'd seen her fight. It was
dreadfully frightening.

She looks at Aleksander, "You leave in an hour. You know
where."

He nods and she's gone.

"You ladies look nice today." Dorian saunters over
to the table grinning like a fool. A fool he is not though.

Giselle swoons, "You do too."

He flashes her a smile and then looks at Aleksander.
"Brother, we need to have a little chat about a few things."

Aleksander nods and follows him out of the kitchen.

I look at Ari and whisper, "I didn’t think he was ever
joining us."

She shrugs, "I don't think he did. I think they're
holding his dad's death for ransom. He helps and they kill him and end Aleks's
misery."

I look back, "Dorian and Lorri are kind of evil like
that."

"Yup."

Just as it gets quiet the kids come running into the kitchen.
My heart lifts. I smile at Danny, "Did you get Mist of Pandaria yet?"

He beams, "Yup. Made a monk last night."

"Me too."

Giselle rolls her eyes, "Nerds."

Ophelia

I look once more at the mirror. Something feels different but
can't explain it. I sigh and leave the room. Mom and dad smile at me when I
walk into the kitchen.

"Hey honey." Mom hands me toast.

"You're dad and I are going to the movie tonight. Are you
going with Abbey to the pool party tomorrow?"

I shake my head and groan, "Yikes mom. Pool party with
the mean kids? I don’t think so."

Dad laughs, "You are so like me. I hated the mean kids
too."

I grin at him and bite into my toast. I grimace, "Is this
natural peanut butter again?"

Mom scowls, "Yes, now eat. I'm not buying that peanut
icing."

I glance at dad who shakes his head and makes a disgusted
face.

I snort.

Abbey bounds into the room pulling her hair into a ponytail.
"You coming with me tomorrow?"

I shake my head and shiver, "Hell no."

She rolls her eyes, "Dude, Jake asked me to ask you to
come."

I narrow my gaze, "No he didn’t."

She nods, "For real. I swear. He did."

"Jake? Jake Mackay?"

She nods, "The one and only."

Mom shrugs, "Pool party at Lance's house might not kill
you, O. Hang with some seniors before grad."

I almost snarl at her but I maintain my cool, "No. Ewww.
Jake is hot but I know they got you to invite me so they can torture me when I
get there."

Abbey looks hurt, "I would never let anyone hurt you
O."

I nod, "I know. But they would. I'm cool hanging with the
twins."

I want to go. I want to hang with Jake. I want him to want me,
but it isn’t going to happen. He wants to let them hurt the loser. The popular
girls are evil.

Abbey glances at me and bats her eyelashes, "You riding
with me to school?"

I shake my head, "No. I'm walking. You go ahead."

She rolls her eyes and sighs.

I don’t like that she is so popular and I'm not, but I also
don’t like any of her friends.

I finish getting ready and walk out the door. I feel like I'm
forgetting something major. I check my bag three times, but I have everything.
I shake it off and walk out of the house.

Lost in thoughts and wishes I walk, without really paying much
attention until I notice a smell. It's something I know, something I've smelled
before. It's delicious and seductive. I close my eyes and inhale. Flashes fill
my mind. I don’t know what they are of but I know the smell. I open my eyes and
smile instantly.

The sexiest guy I've ever seen is standing on the sidewalk
looking at me. He's my age and gorgeous. His dark eyes pull me in completely. I
melt looking at him.

He smiles, "Hey O."

 
My jaw drops
open. He knows my name.

"I need you to come with me."

I nod, helplessly.

"You need to come hold my hand."

I walk towards him. He is intoxicating and unnervingly sexy.

I place my hand in his and instantly I'm somewhere else. I
lean forward and throw up everywhere.

I pull my hand back and cry out, "Leave me alone."

"That was an asshole move. You could have just waited for
us." A beautiful girl with long blonde hair grabs my hand, "It's okay
O. You're not in any danger. I swear on my life. You're safe."

I shudder and throw up again.

The gorgeous guy shakes his head, "Hey, I got her before
the magic at school and all that humiliation."

I shake my head and close my eyes. I must be dreaming.

A man with an English accent speaks behind me. "She'll
remember it all in a minute anyway." I can hear his footsteps next to me.

I open my eyes and scream as his dark eyes fill my vision.
Pain and bursts of light fill my head. I scream and pull back.
It comes in waves.

Aimee, Dorian, Aleks, and Sam. I look at Sam and jump into his
arms, "SAM!" I shout.

I grip him and sob. I barely know why I'm sobbing but then it
all hits. The change with Ari and then Dorian taking my memories. My heart is
swollen and aching as tears stream down my cheeks.

"You're alive." I whisper.

Sam strokes my back, "It's okay O. I'm here."

I close my eyes and am terrified of opening them and seeing
it’s a dream.

"Ophelia, love. We need to get going. We have to go to
Alaska."

I blink and look back at them all. "My birthday? My real
birthday?"

Aleks laughs.

Dorian raises an eyebrow, "Good to see you're bouncing
back so fast. I really hope Trist and Phillip are the same. It'll be annoying
if they're not."

Aimee smiles at me and pats my head, "How was it the last
two years?"

I look at her and knit my brow, "Fine. You know why we
did it right? Are they all alive?"

She nods. "Sam, my mom, my dad, Alise and Blake and all
the kids. Thank you. Ari told me everything."

I frown harder, "You don’t remember anything?"

She shakes her head. Dorian shakes his as well, "It's
better if miss thing over there doesn’t remember. Her past was a shit storm of
bad things. Retraining her was fine. We had two years. You don’t have much time
at all. You still remember everything right?"

I glance at Aleks and then Aimee. They aren’t together. Their
body chemistry is comfortable and friendly, but not in a romantic way.

"Shane?" I'm scared to ask.

Aimee looks down and my heart breaks a little for her.

Dorian rolls his eyes again, "He's on team Marcus."

The name brings with it million memories. Mostly bad ones.
"Hanna?" I whisper.

Sam pulls back from me and looks sickened, "She's normal
still."

I grimace, "Normal?"

He nods, "Her Siren thing hasn’t hit yet and her monster
never took over. She's normal. No death and no drama."

I feel sad for Sam. I know he loved her.

"You alright?"

He shakes his head, "No. I miss her."

I know the price of everything Ari and I did but I can't be
sorry. The lost love in his eyes reminds me of something.

"Oliver? Where is he?"

Dorian's eyes burn, "He's with your dad still. Everything
is where it was. Oliver's been wiped. He doesn’t remember you. We needed it
this way. He needs to see Jonathan for he what he is on his own. He needs to
find his own way here."

I nod, "Okay. Well won't we go get my brother?" I
look around, "Where are my sisters?"

The smell catches my nose and I smile. Lydia's. It's like the
years of me not being here have caught up with me. I feel weepy. I wipe my tear
filled eyes and glance at Aimee, "How does she handle this?"

Aimee shakes her head, "I can't imagine."

"Where is she?"

"With Lucas and Ben. We've been watching Jonathan's.
Taking turns. It's Ari and the wolves this week."

I sigh, "I just wish this was over. I wish things could
be normal."

Dorian laughs and walks out of the room. Loud clicking heels
come in from the hallway to the stairs. Lorri storms in. She gives me a once
over, "Where's Abbey?"

I frown, "What? Why?"

Lorri raises an eyebrow and looks around the kitchen,
"Where's Dorian?"

I feel lost, "He just left."

Her face turns grim, "I bet he did." She growls and
then she's gone.

I look at Aleks and Aimee confusedly, "What was
that?"

Aleks shakes his head, "I don’t know. It's the look she
gets when she's about to eat someone."

I grimace, "She doesn’t like eat them eat them does she?
That’s freakin sick."

He nods blankly, "She eats them. Chews pieces of meat off
the bones."

I shiver in horror, "Damn dude."

Aimee looks at me and purses her lips, "Wanna get ready?
I think we leave in a bit. We need to catch Shane. We're using him as bait so
Jonathan will snatch you from the alley like he did last time."

I smirk, "You remember that?"

She shakes her blonde head, "No. I don’t remember
anything." Her eyes are filled with dread. My fingers start to spark.

"You wanna?"

Her grey eyes flash a response but she doesn’t give in to the
desires. She shakes her head, "It's better this way."

I gulp, I'm still afraid of her. I know I'm stronger but she
is the death for us all. She can kill everything except Aleks. I don’t believe
her that it's better. I believe she is upset and confused. I can feel the
difference between me before remembering and now. I felt so lost and confused.
Déjà vu constantly and odd flashes of memory plagued me. I feel like I've been
reborn and aged a million years right now. She has lost both the loves of her
life to the Ari do-over. It makes me sad.

"So what's up with Shane?"

She looks distraught and shakes her head, "He's different
now." She leaves the kitchen.

I glance at Aleks who shrugs, "She almost ate him and he
was dying, so Marcus turned him to save him. He figured it would kill Aimee and
we'd never stop Jonathan if she killed him. It seemed like a good choice but
she's been pretty upset."

"For two years?"

Aleks clears his throat and glances down the hallway, "He
lives like Marcus does. Very comfortable with the whole drinking human blood
thing. He purposely finds bad humans and drains them. It's pretty gross. At any
rate, tonight Aimee is asking him to meet her in the alley. Everything is where
it was last time when Jonathan snatched you."

"Except Giselle isn’t the lord of the vampires and Hanna
isn’t here and Aimee isn’t quite as badass as she was last time."

He shrugs, "You got me this time and Sam."

I smile, "Yes we do." I can't help but smile like a
goof. The both of them have an intense impact on me.

I turn, when suddenly I hear the boots again accompanied by my
sister's cries. My heart leaps.

Lorri is dragging her through the kitchen, "Where is
he?"

Abbey is bawling and fighting.

I jump at her but Lorri swats me like I'm nothing.

"Lorri let her go. She didn’t do anything."

Lorri growls savagely, "She broke my heart."

I don’t understand.

"Lorri, maybe not the best way to do this." Aleks
speaks soothingly with his hands out.

Abbey looks terrified as Lorri drags her through to the
backyard.

I run after her, "Please Lorri. Please let her go. Aimee,
AIMEE!" I scream.

Aimee appears in a tank top and jeans, no boots or socks,
"What?" She's holding her toothbrush. Her eyes dart to Lorri.

"Lorri, what are you doing? Who is that girl?"

Lorri turns her savage looking face sharply, "Stay out of
this Aimee. Where's Dorian? I thought of him and winked here, but he isn’t
here."

Abbey screams, reaching for me, "O, oh my god O. I was
looking for you. Where did you go? Who are these people O?"

I shake my head, "It's okay Abbey. You're safe. There
isn’t anyone who's going to hurt you." It wasn’t true though. Lorri was already
hurting her.

Dorian walks out of the woods looking smug and shitty, as
usual. "Lorri, what are you doing darling?"

I glance past him at the forest and see Giselle walking out as
well. Dorian and Giselle?

"Fix her." She shoves my trembling and sobbing
sister towards him. He scowls, "Lorri. Be reasonable. She's human."

"I don’t give a flying fuck. You broke her. You made her
forget me. You made her stop loving me. You fix her." Lorri's voice flexes
and strains emotionally. I've never heard those sounds come from her. Not even
when Sam and the kids died.

Dorian's jaw set. He looks like he's thinking about it. He
looks her in the eyes, like he's speaking to her but he isn’t. He closes his
eyes and takes a step toward my sister.

"Dorian please leave her out of this."

He ignores me and takes my sisters weeping face in his hands
and lifts. "Look at me and you'll feel better. I promise."

Abbey sobs and looks at him. He whispers something. Abbey
stops and looks at him. Her face cracks, "Dorian, you cheeky bastard."

Her head shoots around. She jumps up and runs at Lorri. They
reach out at grab at each other. Abbey plants the biggest kiss I have ever seen
on Lorri's bright red lips. They make out shamelessly in front of us. Just like
everyone else in this house.

I look at everyone else and see I'm not alone in the surprise
of a few things. I didn’t even know my sister was a lesbian.

Dorian glances at me. I mouth, "What?"

He nods, "Yeah." He walks up to the house, patting
Abbey on the back, "Welcome back Abbey."

She and Lorri ignore the rest of us. So many things are
starting to make sense. I feel a thousand aha moments taking shape in my mind.

I sigh and turn away just Lorri cups my sister's ass. I walk
back to the house with Aleks, and Aimee who is still holding her toothbrush.

"Well that’s weird for me. I'm not going to lie." I
mutter.

Aimee scowls, "You didn’t know she was a lesbian?"

I shake my head, "That’s not the weird part. I mean I
didn’t know she was a lesbian, but I'm freaking out that her and Lorri have hooked
up. Freaking out. She's too young for her."

Dorian laughs from the kitchen, "Says the girl who is
lusting after the oldest of the old."

I stick my tongue out. Oliver is extremely old. I blush when I
remember him.

"So Lorri is a lesbian?" Aimee asks confused,
obviously. I know I am.

Dorian shakes his head, "She's flexible. She doesn’t love
easily. She loved Jonathan, which obviously didn’t work out so hot, and now
your sister. She's dated a bit but not loved. I tried to convince her it was a
terrible, horrid idea." He points through to the window at them grinning
at each other and talking, still out on the back grass. "As you can tell
that went well."

I walk past everyone and climb the stairs to my old room. I
get a whiff of him and stop and smell. I tap at his door gently. I open the
door, but he isn’t in his room. He must have just left, the room still smells
yummy. I close the door and go to my room. It looks like it did when I first
moved in last time. It's plain and lonely. I feel a bit that way.