Odyssey (The Vampire Destiny Series Companion Book 1) (48 page)

Georgia whirled around on her heels, turning to run and I was prepared to make chase after her.  But it was Josephine that solved the problem.  She threw up her hands in front of her and let out a shriek.  "No! Georgia, stop!"

Georgia came to an immediate halt, unable to move.  I circled her, attempting to touch her.  There was an almost invisible force field that was around her like a second skin.

I could only stare at Josephine, my inner voice filled with awe. 
"Are you doing this, Josephine?"

She shrugged. 
"It appears that I am.  I have no idea what’s happening, Stefan.”

Josephine took slow steps towards Georgia, keeping her hands in front of her.  "Georgia, I want you to sit down so we can talk, ok?"

She must have mentally directed Georgia to the bed.  I watched in wonder as Georgia’s unsteady gait propelled her towards the bed and she awkwardly sat on the bed.  Josephine was testing her power, raising and lowering her hands as she slowly gained control of herself.

"Josie, why was he biting you?  And why can't I move?"  Georgia whined.  She looked as if she could burst into tears at any moment and I could not find it in myself to feel pity for her.

Josephine ignored both of her questions.  “Oh, Georgia.  Why couldn’t you just knock on the door like a normal person?  This could have been avoided.”

"Don’t you dare put this on me!  You need to answer me, Josie.  Is he a va-vampire?" Georgia stuttered.  She looked at me with apprehension.  I simply folded my arms across my chest and leaned against the wall, unashamedly naked.  I was watching both of them intently.

I sent my thoughts to her. 
"If Georgia does not accept the truth I will have no choice to either kill her or force my will on her, erasing this part of her memory.  It will be dangerous to remove so much, vackra."

"Georgia, I need you to listen and I need you to stay calm," she said softly to her as she crouched down beside her.  "Yes, Stefan is a vampire."

Georgia swallowed and a tear ran crookedly down her cheek.  "Are you one too?”

Josephine offered her an uneasy smile.  "Only part,” she corrected.  "I found out about my parents during our impromptu trip."

"Why can't I move?"

She put down her hands and I could see the concentration on her face as she focused on releasing her.  "I was doing it.  You can move now."

Georgia moved one of her hands first, flexing and un-flexing them, her eyes narrowing as she gazed at her friend suspiciously.  She then bent her arm and shook her legs, making sure they still worked.

"How long have you known that he's a vampire?"

This human was either an idiot or Josephine’s shield had permanently damaged her.  She had been held my an invisible force by her friend and she was still worried about me being a vampire?

Josephine reached across to smooth Georgia’s long dark hair away from her frightened face.  "Since the first night I met him."

"I just don’t understand any of this, Josie.  Did he do this to you?”  Her southern accent became more evident and she jerked her chin towards me.  “What the hell does all this mean?"

Josephine glanced over her shoulder at me.  I still had not moved and was as still as a statue.  I had closed my mind to her and was allowing Josephine to run the show.  This was her friend and she knew the consequences.

"No, Stefan didn’t do this to me.  I was born this way.  When we were in New York I met my father.  He’s also a vampire.”  She took a deep breath and continued.  “My mother was human.  Basically, I'm a mixture of both.  Maybe it would be easier to think of me as a more durable version of the Josie you know."

“You won't get older? Or die?"

"Josephine and I can both die, Georgia.  Though we are much more difficult to kill," I replied, breaking into the conversation.  "Now that you know, you now have three options."

Georgia crossed her legs and puckered her lips.  "And what pray tell are my choices?"

"Option one is that I kill you.  I would prefer not to do that since it would be upsetting to Josephine.  Option two is that I can force my will on you and make you forget, which is potentially dangerous.  Option three is that you can keep our secret and act like nothing has changed.”  I ran my fingers through my messy hair.  “The choice is yours."

Josephine rolled her eyes at my ultimatum and grabbed Georgia’s hand and squeezed it to get her attention.  Her blue eyes were wary as they met.

"I'm still Josie, Georgia."

Georgia glared over her shoulder at my still very naked body.  If looks could kill and I was not already dead, I would be now.  Her mouth twisted into a sneer and when she looked back at Josephine, her eyes were filled with contempt.

“Georgia…”

"No, Josie.  It’s my ass on the line and I need information.  How old is he?  How is he able to be out during the day?  How does all of this work?”  She was relentless, the questions coming out in rapid-fire bursts.

"I am 33," I answered dryly.  "Most of the things you read or hear about our kind are myths.  Such as our supposed aversion to sunlight."

"Huh," Georgia said, considering my words for a moment.  "Exactly how old are you in vampire years?"

Perhaps Josephine was correct.  Her thoughts were filled with exasperation at Georgia and how she assumed vampires were like house pets that multiplied each year by seven.  "I am 975 years old.  We still count years the same way humans do."

“I knew there was something different about you.  I just never thought of you as a vampire.”  She chewed on her bottom lip.  “Josie, you could’ve told me what was going on.”

“I’m sorry, Georgia.  I hoped you’d never find this out.”  She closed her eyes, focusing on Georgia’s future.  She must have seen her decision and looked at me and nodded.

"We can trust her, Stefan.  She won't tell anyone."

"How did you know what I was going to say?" Georgia asked, her voice raising an octave.

Josephine was ready to dump yet another surprise on her.  As much as I disliked Georgia, I could tell she had almost hit the point of no return.  I hoped that Josephine chose to make it as simple as possible.  "I'm a psychic.  I can see the future.”

Georgia’s face hardened.  "I feel like an idiot.  That's why you didn't like to go out until you met him," she snorted loudly.  "Does Anna know about this?"

"The psychic thing, yes," she said. "The vampire stuff, no."

"You could've told me about being psychic.  I suspected something was up with you,” she accused, chewing her lip again.  "This is why you're leaving Bali with him!  You wanted a clean break.  I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer but even I can figure it out now."

Inhaling a deep breath, she nodded sadly.  "That’s part of the reason.  Stefan and I aren’t going to age.  There are...things that need to be taken care of in New York."

"So now you're headed off with Hunky."  Georgia gestured to me.  "Were you just going to disappear?"

Georgia was not as stupid as I originally thought. That was exactly what we would have done and were going to do eventually.  I owned properties all over the world and it would be easy to disappear with an unlimited income and with the help of fake identification.

Josephine had more tact.  She stared at her hands and sighed. "Probably."

And with that admission, Georgia cried.  And not just a few tears.   She wept until her shoulders shook.  Josephine sat beside of her and let her cry against her, unable to offer her any other consolation.  "You can't just walk away, Josie.  You're like my sister."

"I know.  That's what makes this so hard, Georgia.”

Georgia sobbed again and I did not know how much more of her dramatics that I could endure.  She made Lukas seem…normal.

"You can come and visit us anytime," Josephine assured her.  As soon as the words left her lips, she realized how shallow they sounded.  She met my gaze across the room and I shook my head and my eyes lowered.

Georgia stood and put her hands on her hips.  "That's a piss poor thing to say to me.  I love you like a sister and you tell me I can visit?  I'm going home."

Now it was my turn to step in.  I blurred to block the doorway, my large frame towering over her as I stood looking down at her, my chest bare and long arms folded across my chest.

"You must give me your word that you will keep your silence,” I warned.  “If you talk to anyone about this, it means your death.”

She barked out a sardonic laugh.  "I said I wouldn’t tell anyone.  Unless you want me to pinkie promise, that’s all you’re gonna get, Stefan.  Who would believe me anyway?"

I had to give her credit, she had bravado that few other humans had.  I stepped aside and let her pass.  She almost ran down the hallway in her haste to leave, slamming the front door so hard it shook the windows.

I let out a deep sigh and sat down beside of Josephine.  I reached for her hand, turning it over and tracing patterns on her palm with my fingers.  I said nothing, keeping my thoughts protected.

"I should have changed the locks," she mused, more to herself than to me.

"You never cease to amaze me," I murmured.  I brought her hand up to my mouth and brushed my lips over her fingers.  "Look at it this way, vackra.  She knows our secret.  You can keep her in your life."