Escaped the Night (49 page)

Lakylee
and I talked
alone
for a few minutes in the living room
.
I
t made me realize
that when hostilities weren’t taking over, the nightwalkers were
quite
likeable.

Kaleb and Kael
slowly
made their way into the living room. There was a definite sore spot that I hadn’t taken into ac
count
before
they entered
. I felt the pain as Kaleb and Kael focused in on
Lakylee
. I wasn’t sure they c
ould ever overcome the loss of
Garrison
.
I knew and understood how much they missed
him because
I felt the same sadness and hatred
.
Garrison
was a big part of our lives and
Lakylee
was
responsible for taking him away from us.

We all stood in the living room, but
the room
seemed smaller with
Lakylee
and the guys
in it. The usually
spacious room felt no
bigger than a broom closet. I wanted to keep some dista
nce between her and the others because in truth,
I
didn’t completely
trust her yet
and
wasn’t entirely sure
how well
Kale
b or Kael could handle
seeing her
. There was
still
so much resentment over
Garrison
’s death,
and
unfortunately,
they both held themselves responsible
which
it made their guilt much more of a burden to carry
. I couldn’t bring myself to ask them to let it go and forget
about everything
because
I’d never
forget
Garrison
, so what
w
ould
give me the
nerve
to ask something like that from them
. I
nstead, I
kept my words and thoughts to
myself and stood in the middle. I’
d try my best to break up anything, should it start. In the middle
,
I felt like I had
more control
because I didn’t put anyone
at risk,
I was the neutral one
with
both
parties on my side.

“This
room
isn’t
big enough to hold this meeting,
”
Lakylee
said
,
obviously feeling the rising tension.

I almo
st broke down when I looked
at Kaleb and saw
his expression
.
Garrison
was his brother.
This was terrible of me to place his murderer in the same room. Yes, she was offering us help, but at what price?

Jayce entered with Uncle Dane and Auntie Steph on either side.
“We could always move this gathering to my house.”

“Jayce? What about t
he elements? We can’t put them at risk. There’s too much at stake
and this isn’t their battle
. The entir
e world would
be in jeopardy if any
thing happened
to them.”

“This is their fight, just as much as it is for each and every
one
of us
. Getting rid of D
onovan will enable
both
our worlds
to live peacefully. We should
respect each other for the qualities and differences we have. After
all, aside from the food we consume
and
hour in which we wake,
there
really isn’t that much difference
. We all shoot to the stars with our soul ma
tes,
live for eternity and
share the same basic nee
ds. Our worlds are related in
many ways.”

I looked
around to see how everyone was responding
. They all
nodded, giving Jayce their approval. I glanced towards the window and watched as
the heads of the werewolves
nodded
in agreement.

“I
understand
there
have
been sacrifices on both sides, but l
et’s not let the lives of
our lost
brothers and sisters be in vain, “ Jayce continued. “
Help
them to be a part of
this change
and make things right
. Their death
s will have new meaning and
in the end
, they will have
died for a better purpose.”

Jayce was absolutely right.
There were losses on both sides and by coming
together, we could mend old wounds and
come up with the strength
to destroy Donovan.
He separated
our two worlds
and
it was
his way
of thinking
that
put us at od
ds with
each other. W
ithout him, there c
ould be peace.

“Okay gang,
so
do we have a truce?” Jayce asked.

“For
Garrison
!” Kaleb said.

“Truce,
” Kael agreed.

“For
sure. Count me in!”
Lakylee
said. Scratches sounded at the window.
Lakylee
looked over and nodded her head once. S
he
turned
back towards us
. “They’re in
and
think it’s going to be
good
fun kicking Donovan’s butt.”

“Okay
, it’s settl
ed. This is a group effort. We’
re all on the same team
from this point onwards
. Let’s get going to my place, it’s bigger and we need the space so
we can get
th
e others on the same page as us,
” Jayce announced to the group.

Lakylee
and the werewolves said
they’d meet us there. Uncle Dance
offered to dri
ve us over to Jayce’s in his trusty red four-door car. Auntie Steph and Uncle Dane sat up front while Jayce, Kale
b and I sat in the backseat.
Kael followed alongside the car in his wolf form, as there wasn’t room for him. He and Kaleb didn’t feel quite
right leaving us
because n
either of them could really believe what was taking place.

As we sat in the backseat I leaned over and whi
spered to Kaleb. “I’m sorry
. I never thought about how hard this was going to be on you. She offered
us
help and
honestly, the only thing
I
thought
about
was
beating Donovan. I’m sorry for
the toll my selfishness has
played
on your emotions. I
did
n’t mean to be so
heartless.”

He looked
surprise
d. “Uh
…
thank you, but j
ust so you know
,
what you’re doing
i
sn’t
selfish. A
s a matter of fact,
it’s
exactly the opposite
,
because
i
t’
s
noble. You’re the key
, you’re
help
ing peace overcome
all
the
years of fighting by
taking a stand
and I’m with you one hundred percent. I know
the reason we were summoned to protect
you
, y
our
worth is beyond words.
” He smiled whole-heartedly. “
I miss
Garrison
, but r
emember
,
he
died protecting Meriel. His actions
saved her, you, and
the rest of world. He
died with his honor
in
tact
.”

“The fact remains,
Garrison
should be here with us
. I was only thinking about what I wanted when I
brought the one responsible for his death into our lives
. Now
,
she’s up close and personal wi
th us and
I
want
ed to let you
know
I understand how hard it must be for you.
That’s all
I’m trying to get across. I understand
,
Kaleb
,
and I’m sorry.”

He
nudged me.
“You worry too much. I’m fine. This is going to b
e a good thing. I can feel it.
Besides, we
could really use all the
help we can get against this Donovan
guy
and she’s
definitely
a strong fighter. H
onestly
, she’s
a great
asset to have on our side.”

“Yes
,
she
truly
is,
” I said
,
thinking about how strong and fierce
Lakylee
was.

“Only, if
we can trust her…” His
voice
trailed off as he turned his head towards the window.

“We can
,
Kale
b. I’m
sure of it.”

He
looked
back towards me
. “I’ll trust your judgme
nt. I’m with you and so is Kael. W
e go wherever you do. We’
re protecting you till death and
I promise you we
will destroy anything, and I mean anything that comes close to you w
ith the intention of causing
harm.”

“Thanks
,
Kaleb. I’m counting on that. Remember, I’m
nothing more than
a big wimp.”

“Oh, I remember all right,” h
e said
,
rolling his eyes. “Mouthy as anything
,
but a co
mplete wimp.
Too bad you can’t
fight with words or t
hey’d be in BIG trouble. Ha-ha!”

“Funny, r
eal funny.”
Kaleb was ok
ay after all. I was relieved
this wasn’t to
o
hard for him to overcome. I
couldn’t bear seeing him hurt
like that again. I knew the loss of
Garrison
would
never subside, but
the sting
wouldn’t be so
immense
as
time passed.

‘That was a really g
ood thing you
just
did there
,
’
Jayce said
.

‘
Thanks, I didn’t
want him to have to deal with
anything
that
made him
uncomfortable.’

‘Losing you would be the only thing he couldn
’t deal with. Remember, he’
s
here because of you and only
you.’

I didn’t respond. I needed a
moment
to myself as I thought about how
thankful
I was
for the people in my life
. They were all very special
and meant the world to me. I’d do anything for each and
everyone of them and
knew
I could expect
the same in return.

Jayce placed our entwined hands on his lap and held them together tightly.
If he
hadn’t been able to connect
and understand everything I felt, I wasn’t sure he’
d ever comprehend how much I truly loved hi
m. It was more than I could describe with words and greater
than I could possibly show him.

‘
You are
my life.
I love you
,’ said Jayce.

‘I love you more.’

‘Impossible.’

‘Then, I’ve done the impossible.’ I
smiled.

‘Yes, yes you have.’ He squeezed my hand.

He broke
our connection and we joined
in on
the conversation happening in the car around us. Everyone
spoke
about how strange it was to have this kind of outcome and
that
no one
ever
expected it. A new immortal world wa
s about to be born
and it
would be better for all of us
;
i
t would
even
be safer for the mortals
living
amo
ngst us. New rules would be made
with the death of Donovan. This time of change was going to be like nothing known before.

I drifted
into my own little
place
as I daydreamed about
life
with our two w
orlds combined.
I imagined tranquility, in a
sp
ace where
we
gathered
peacefully instead
of
on
battle
fields.
I was sure there’
d
be some resistance
, possibly
from both sides
,
but
overall I figured it wo
uld be pretty easy to come up with a
plan
that
w
ould work for
everyone.
We’
d
need
to appoint leaders
who were
fa
miliar with both sides
. If they
already had
existing alliance
s, then perhaps
it
would be enough to reassure any
doubters.
My mind raced with the possibilities. This had to be the right thing because I felt
that it was
right from my head, down
to my toes.

I pu
lled myself back into reality and
returned to a different feeling
as we travelled during the
nigh
t with
nightwalkers on our side
.
I felt stronger.
We didn’t have to run in fear or worry
that
a vampire or werewolf
was
lurking around the next corner. We only had to worry about Donovan, but at least I could sense him. He was like nothing I’ve
ever
felt before
and this would be how I kne
w when he was near
by. My sen
ses would give us ample time to prepare
.

A s
hort while later we arrived
at
the grand home
and it
felt
wonderful
. I really
missed my friends and i
t
had been
d
ifficult being away from them
.
We were all
so
close before and I hoped
that with
any luck
we’
d
be able to
pick up
right
where we
left off. Picking sides was a very hard thing to do
and
wasn’t
much
fun.
When I left my friends, I picked a side.
I did it with good intentions because
I
was trying to keep them safe, but lesson
learned;
I’d never do it again.
I would
stand my ground and my friends would support me as they stood by my side.

Lakylee
stood
partially hidden by the
side of the house while the
two
werewolves
paced around the
edge of the
property scouting for
intruders.
When
she realized
we were approaching,
she
reve
a
led herself
completely
.
Our group gathered and
headed
towards the
front
doors. Once inside, I was surprised to find
no on
e
came to
g
reet us upon our arrival
. Where were the o
thers?
I
immediately
shook the intru
sive
thoughts
from my head. No, it
wasn’t going to happen
like that
. This was the beginning, the beginning of a great change. Have faith, I told myself.
It
will
all
work out.

Our group remained bunched together
as we moved
throughout the lower level of the house.
Lakylee
walked alongside
Kaleb and neither seemed bothered by
the
fact
that
the
other one
was
standing so close
.
Kael
stayed
near
Uncle Dane and Auntie Steph, while t
he two wolves
walked on
either side of me. Jayce was up
front
,
leading the way. We must’ve been quite the
sight. Never in all eternity had our worlds walked together like this. It was a
sure sign this
change was real and it was close.

As we neared the living room I
heard
voices.
Some I recognized while
others I did not
. The voices however,
sounded quite happy as they chattered back and forth.
O
ne by one
, we
entered the crowded living room and to my surprise, everyone was there waiting for us. When
I say everyone, I mean everyone.
The elemen
ts, fairies, shape shifters, four
vampir
es from the coven and
three
werewolves
filled the living room. E
ven the two unicorns rescue
d
from the vampire house
stood
outside the open
window
looking in
.

Previous sworn enemies
sat amongst each other talking
as if
they’d been life
long friends. Aiden and Terran
conversed
causally with a
couple
werewolves, while the unicorns exchanged conversation with the pair of vampires. I was
left
in a state of awe as I
took in the scenery of
the room. The best part
was that
eve
ryone seemed to be enjoying one
an
other’s company. There was no faking the smiles
filling
this
room.

“Hey ga
ng!” Jayce said loudly
as we all took our places in the crowded room
.

Everyone quieted down.
I
quickly
wiped
away
the tear
on
my cheek and glanced over at Kale
b. T
hankfully
,
he wasn’t looking
.
I didn’t want him to see me getting emotional over this
.
Yes, it was big and fantastic, but
the battle
had
n’t
really happened yet.
I
turned to
Kael,
who
also
faced the
other direction.
My heart skipped a beat
as I
scanned the room and located
Layla and Meriel
. Meriel gave me a tiny wave while
Layla flash
ed me
her gorgeous smi
le. Meriel
looked great. She had been
in
rough shape the last time I saw
her; i
t was
quite the
relief
knowing she
’d
made a complete recovery. I
beamed back at my two friends with a
smile from ear to ear.

“Thanks to
all
of you for coming here tonight,” Jayce began. “
I’m
really
g
lad to see
that so
m
any of you
made
it. We’l
l have to
continue
spread
ing
the word to the others
un
able to
attend
.
Please be warned…
s
ome
might
n
eed a little more convincing
,
but
just
be patient
with them
. Not everyone is eas
ily adaptable to change; w
e
’ll
need
to
give them time to process it
all
. We will
also need to
decide
on
a
designated
person, perhaps on
e for each
side
,
so they can
be available to
address
any grievances
.”
Jayce paused to ensure he had everyone’s full attention.

It was such a sight
,
seeing all the different immortal
s in one room
.
I found myself wishing Daray
were
around
to witness it
. I had to stop worrying. We’d find him soon enough and
he
’d
be part of this too.

Jayce continued.
“Fi
rst things first,” h
e said, turning
to face me. “Shanntal, we owe this all to you. You’re the reason we’ve come together. You’ve
managed to heal
some of the wounds we’ve received and stowed upon
one another
in the past. You are our lin
k. You’
re the one who walks amongst our
two worlds. Thanks to you, these
worl
ds are about to become one
.”

I blushed from being put on the spot. I
didn’t feel any
different
from
anyone else. Why did they all think of me
this way
? I really wished
they’d stop
. I didn’t like being the cent
e
r
of attention.