On the Edge of Destiny (Book 3) (A Vampire SEAL Novel) (12 page)

Chapter 10

I
n the morning, Dad had left a note taped to the fridge for me to meet him and Sam in the control room. After Webb brought me home last night, I’d checked on my brother. He’d been tucked in, sleeping in his bed, so I’d curled up in mine and passed out. I’d had no trouble getting my mind to relax, thanks to Webb, who’d agreed to not hold in his feelings during our long talk.

Unsurprisingly, when I entered the control room, the place buzzed with activity. Vampires typed on keyboards and chatted on phones. Dad’s note said he and Sam would be in the office next to Sawyer’s workstation. I knew exactly where that was. I sauntered down the few steps to the lower level, careful to stay inside the yellow lines marked on the floor. Only people with special clearance were allowed to step outside the boundaries, since Dad had implemented the stricter security measures.

Sawyer rolled back his chair as I approached him. He’d been one of the sentinels who worked with Sam the night I went missing, showing my brother the ropes on how to operate a computer program.

“Hey, Jo?” Sawyer, like the majority of the sentinels who worked for my dad, stood over six feet tall, was in great physical shape, and had shoulder-length hair. The cool thing about Sawyer was the color of his eyes. His were a mixture of blue, brown, green, and gold. Every time he blinked, a different color dominated.

“Hey, there,” I answered.

He pointed to the office. “Sam and your father are waiting.”

“Thanks.” I turned and glided in. “What’s going on?”

“Pumpkin, good morning.” Dad lifted his gaze from his computer screen.

“It’s about time.” Sam dropped his feet from the desk. “Pops wouldn’t tell me what happened until you got here.”

“You don’t remember?” I slid into the chair next to Sam.

“Not after some storm came in.”

“Ha. You were the storm, Sam,” I said.

Dad tapped on the keyboard then gave us his full attention. “I wanted to wait until I had both of you here.”

“Why are we in the control room?” We usually found Dad in his office upstairs.

“Maintenance is fixing a leak in my bathroom. Anyway, we have several things to discuss.” Dad had a slight grin on his face, as though he were proud. “Son, your anger last night brought out your ability to manipulate earth and air.”

“I did?” Sam’s eyes widened. “How come I don’t remember?”

“You were enraged. As a new vampire, your powers will usually surface when your emotions change,” Dad said.

“Like my telekinesis did?”

“Yes, Jo. Both of you will learn to harness your abilities and use them when necessary, not only in fits of anger.”

A tickle skated across my nape.

Good morning. See? You need to practice.
Webb’s voice ignited my limbs.

I jerked around to face the door. He handed a sheet of paper to Sawyer before sauntering in.

“Ah, Lieutenant,” Dad said. “Please close the door.”

Webb did as Dad ordered. Black cargo pants hugged his hips, and a black T-shirt stretched across his toned chest, with the SEAL emblem in the upper left corner. The word
Jupiter
arced over the top of the emblem, and the word
sentinel
was underneath. His blue eyes gleamed as he settled next to Dad’s desk.

“Do you want to get a chair, Lieutenant?” Dad asked.

“No sir. I can’t stay long. We’re tracking some chatter.”

“Fair enough.” Dad nodded. “Back to the topic at hand. Both of you need to practice.”

“Commander, I’ve been working with Jo on hers.”

“You’re becoming quite the magic doer,” Sam said.

“You are too, Son.”

“Seriously?” Sam studied Dad. “How are we able to manipulate the elements?”

Dad shifted in his chair. “Alchemy.” He went on to explain how vampires absorb energy from nature, which Webb had told me.

Sam’s mouth hung open through the entire explanation. When Dad finished, Sam shook his head as though he still couldn’t wrap his mind around the concept.
Welcome to the club.

“Ms. Costner called this morning. You both begin your tutoring sessions later in the week.”

I smiled, happy she agreed. I wanted to learn more about her and how she cast spells.

“Dad? What about Ben? Is he okay?”

“What happened to him?” Sam asked.

“Wow. That must’ve been some rage you were in, Sam. You don’t even remember?” I asked.

“All I know is that I wanted to beat the crap out of him.”

Webb muttered something I couldn’t make out.

“From what I could tell, Son, your Empath abilities are stronger than I suspected. Not only can you feel emotions, but you can suck someone’s energy right out of them.”

“What the heck are you talking about, Pops?”

“Wait,” I said. “I read about this in the library. An Empath is also referred to as an Energy Vampire. They can drain the life from anyone, including humans, and use it to their advantage.”

“That’s right, pumpkin. It depends on the strength of the Empath. For example, Tripp is a weak Empath and can only feel emotions. He could never pull energy from another person.”

Sam’s mouth fell open again. “So, what could I do with someone’s energy?”

“It’s different for all Empaths,” Webb chimed in. “If what I’m hearing is correct, then you took more than Ben’s anger. You took all the energy he needed to stay conscious. Since you’re inexperienced, I’m not surprised he passed out, but with practice, you could take just enough to make them too weak to retaliate.”

“So I used his anger to fuel my own?”

“That’s correct,” Webb said.

“Did I kill him?” Sam’s forest-green eyes flashed vampire black.

“No, he’s alive.” Dad rubbed his jaw.

“Is he here? Is he all right?” I sat up straighter.

Dad looked over at Webb then back to Sam and me. “Ben got away. He woke up when Sloan and Olivia were stopped at a red light.”

“What?” I popped to attention. This wasn’t good. Ben definitely wasn’t one hundred percent human, not with the way his eyes changed from brandy-colored to red. “Are we going to help him?”

“If we can find him, then we’ll try,” Dad said. “His father told one of my men that Ben was at a baseball camp for a few weeks. He said he watched Ben go through security at the airport yesterday morning. We know he didn’t. We checked his flight, and he wasn’t on it. We have men searching now.”

Sam and I exchanged a look. Baseball camp had always been a dream of Sam’s. He and Ben had talked about going together this summer.

“Does Mr. Jackson know you’re looking for Ben, Pops?” Sam asked.

“No. And we didn’t say anything about what happened last night. We were there to see how Ben was feeling after his hospital stay here last week,” Dad said.

“And what will you do when you find him?” I swung my gaze from Webb to Dad.

“We’ll need to get him under Dr. Vieira’s care and run tests.” Dad pushed to his feet. “I can’t stress enough that both of you should not talk if he happens to call you.” Dad pinned his gaze on Sam.

My brother raised his hands. “Don’t worry, Pops. I have no intention of talking to him.”

Dad circled around Webb and planted himself in front of Sam and me. I didn’t want to see him. His thoughts were…

My eyes grew wide when I remembered his voice in my head.

“What is it?” Webb asked, coming to my side.

“Pumpkin, are you okay?”

Was I ready to ask Dad about mind-reading? I reached over and grabbed my brother’s wrist. He looked at me as if I were some kind of lunatic. I held on and closed my eyes. Nothing.

“What are you doing, Jo?” Concern tinged Webb’s voice.

Opening my eyes, I let go of Sam. “When Ben was holding me, I could’ve sworn I heard his thoughts. I mean…um… He was saying things, but his lips weren’t moving.”

Dad looked horrified, as did Webb.

“Were you able to read Sam’s thoughts?” Dad asked.

I laughed nervously. “No. I got nothing.”

“Can you read anyone’s thoughts in this room without touching them?” Webb squatted, peering up at me.

“No. But wouldn’t it be the weirdest thing if I could read your mind, Dad?”

His eyes narrowed as he chewed on the inside of his cheek.

“Well?” Dad’s silence rattled me.

He combed his hair with his hand and rounded the desk, going back to his chair. He eased down and sighed as though he had lost the battle of the century.

“Was Ben the only one whose mind you could read?” he asked, finally.

“I think I read Matthew’s mind when he escorted me to the main house.”

“That’s how your mind-reading abilities start.” Dad continued to chew on the inside of his cheek.

“You’re not making any sense,” I said.

“Yeah, Pops.” Sam fidgeted in his seat.

Webb rose and went to stand against the wall.

“I’d just walked out of an office building when I bumped into a human lady.” Dad was focusing on something behind me. “Instantly my head filled with words and gibberish. I’d been working hard at the time, and I thought I needed to rest. But as I bent down to pick up the package, our hands touched, and my mind was awash with words—her words. When we broke the connection, my mind cleared.

“I had to make certain I wasn’t crazy, so I found another human and compelled him into shaking my hand. Same thing. After several random experiments with humans and vampires, I’d found I could only read humans’ minds.”

“But I don’t think Ben is human.” I bounced my knee.

“We don’t know that for sure,” Webb said.

I’d put money on the fact Ben wasn’t.

“As my powers grew,” Dad continued. “So did my mind-reading abilities.”

“Will I be able to read vampire minds?” I asked.

“As your powers grow, I’m certain you will. The question is, will you be able to only by touching them, or will that not be necessary?” Dad shook his head.

“Have you ever figured out why I’m the only one you can read without touching?”

“Your telekinesis gives off strong electromagnetic waves. My telepathy means I’m sensitive to this radiant energy, which, I suspect, allows me to read your mind at a distance.”

His theory made sense, if we were talking about anything other than humans.

Oh, yeah. I wasn’t human anymore.

“Man, this is too much to take in for me,” Sam muttered.

“Why do you look distraught over this, Dad?” I should’ve been the one panicking. I didn’t want voices in my head.

“Your powers are growing, Jo,” Webb said. “And that makes you more of a threat to Edmund or any of our enemies.”

Sawyer poked his head in. “We have a situation.”

“What?” Webb pushed off the wall.

“The main gate is swarming with media.”

“Why?” Dad jumped out of his seat.

“They want to talk to the girl with the violet eyes.” Sawyer pinned his gaze on me.

“Huh?” I, too, flew out of my chair.

“It’s best if you see the footage,” Sawyer said.

Sam and I exchanged a look before following Dad and Webb out of the office and over to Sawyer’s desk. He tapped a few buttons on the keyboard, and the scene out at the gate emerged on the widescreen monitor on the far wall. Media trucks, newscasters, cameramen, and nosy neighbors crowded the street.

“I don’t understand.” Dad pinched his eyebrows together.

“Apparently, Jo’s face is on the front page of the people section in the
Herald
,” Sawyer said.

“Why me?”

“Those cameras last night,” Sam murmured.

“Oh, no. Does the picture show my fangs?” I prayed it didn’t.

Dad whirled on me. “Please tell me you didn’t have your fangs showing, young lady.” Smoke billowed from his ears. Okay, imaginary smoke.

“I covered my mouth with my hand.”

“Find me a paper,” Dad barked to no one in particular.

Chairs scraped along the floor, doors opened and closed, and vampires scurried to find Dad a newspaper. Before anyone could produce a copy, Sawyer had the
Herald
’s website on screen with my mug staring back at us. The headline read,
Beautiful Creature Changes Her Appearance in the Blink of an Eye.

I gasped. Sam choked. Webb uttered a few words not for children under the age of ten. Dad…well, his skin darkened to a deep red.

Two pictures of me sat side by side—one of me with my silver eyes and the other with purple eyes and fangs hanging over my lips. I thought about running. I thought about stabbing myself with a cobalt sword. Either would be a better punishment than what Dad had in store for me.

A brave soul ran up, handed the newspaper to Webb, then beat feet back to his desk. Phones rang. Dad ignored his as he glared at me. Webb pulled his phone from his pocket as he walked away.

“How did they know Jo lived here?” Sam asked. “Is it even legal for them to print pictures without permission?”

Did it even matter now? My photo was plastered on the computer screen.

“No, Son, it’s not. Both of you go up to the apartment.” Dad’s tone deepened. “I need to sort this out.”

I headed toward the exit, not waiting for Sam. I wasn’t hanging around Dad right now. Not when he looked as though he wanted to kill me. The way Sam could feel Dad’s fury, I was surprised he wasn’t running out, as well. As I climbed the stairs to the small landing area above the control room, I had a horrible thought. Would the Council add this to my record? Humans weren’t supposed to know vampires existed.

Humans. I halted in my tracks. What if Mr. Jackson saw me in the paper? Would my mug shot be the evidence he needed to confirm that something weird was taking place under my dad’s authority?

Chapter 11

T
he next morning, I jumped out of bed, praying today would be better than yesterday. I held hope Dad would go easy on me. I still hadn’t seen him since he went red after seeing me on the front page of the newspaper. Webb had called around midnight to tell Sam and me that Dad would not be home because he had a meeting with his superiors. Yeah, I was in deep trouble.

I slinked out of my room and into the bathroom. Voices trickled down the hall. The hushed whispers were too low for even my vampire hearing. The only thing I could make out was Dad’s deep baritone.

I took my time in the shower, washing every part of me three times. I was in no hurry to venture out into the family room. But I did want to ask Dad about my best friend, Darcy Rose. After Sam returned to the apartment shortly after me, he’d informed me that Darcy would be here sometime today. Apparently, Dad had approved her to stay on base until her father could work out his debt issues. Mr. Rose was a big-time lawyer out of Boston who had defended a vampire or two in the past. According to Edmund, Mr. Rose owed a great deal of money to a colleague of Edmund’s, which was why Darcy had been kidnapped by Edmund. He’d planned on holding her hostage until her father could pay his debt. Fortunately for Darcy, we’d been able to rescue her when we invaded Edmund’s mansion in Newport, RI, last week.

After a few silent pep talks, I got out of the shower, toweled off, and dressed. The longer I took, the longer I put off Dad’s wrath.

I steeled my shoulders and padded into the kitchen. I had no choice, really. My throat burned with hunger.

Sun spilled in from the wall of windows as I walked toward the light or maybe my own death. I reached the family room and stopped, saying a quick prayer.

“No amount of prayers will get you out of this one, young lady,” Dad said. “Have a seat at the bar.” He tapped a button on his cell phone.

I followed his order, climbing onto the barstool and interlaced my fingers. Dad poured blood into a mug, and my fangs dropped.

“Drink,” he said, sliding the mug toward me.

I promptly downed the thick red liquid. The burn in my throat immediately cooled. I set down the mug.

“Now, let’s talk about the photo.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know my fangs—”

“Jo, it’s too late for excuses.” Dad’s voice was surprisingly even. “I know incidents like this will happen. As a new vampire, sometimes it’s hard to control your senses. I get it. I also knew the risk involved when Alia invited you and Sam. Thankfully, she came to our rescue. Her father, however, is furious.”

I didn’t doubt Mr. Costner was outraged by my display of weakness, especially since he hadn’t been keen on Sam and me attending his soiree.

“How did she cover for me?”

“She explained to the reporter that you were trying out a few costumes with her permission.” He grabbed my empty mug.

I tilted my head. “I don’t understand. Why would the reporter believe her?”

“Her father compelled the man into believing Alia’s story. A follow-up article is in the paper this morning.”

I glanced around the counter for the newspaper.

“I don’t have a copy yet. Regardless, we got lucky on this one.” He pinned me with a hard expression. “If humans find out—”

“I know, Dad. I’ll do my best not to let it happen again.” I wanted to promise, but I couldn’t. Not with me still growing into my powers. I didn’t want to dwell on the subject any longer, though I did want to read the article. “Is Darcy staying on base for the summer?”

“I’d planned to tell you yesterday. I’ve set her up with her own room in the human barracks, and she’ll work alongside Ms. Simpson in the library.” He walked over to the sink behind him and washed out the mug.

I was glad Darcy would be living on base. She would be protected not only from Edmund, but also from Ben. If he were turning into a vampire, then his thirst for human blood could get her killed.

“By the way.” Dad’s voice drew me away from thinking about Darcy. “Tomorrow, you and Sam have a physical set up with Dr. Vieira.” He turned to face me as he snatched a dish towel off the counter next to him then dried the mug.

“What’s with the physical?” I asked.

Dr. Vieira had been analyzing some of our blood samples, and as part of the Eternal Protection Law, we still had a few more weeks to donate blood.

“Standard procedure for any new vampire.” He finished drying the mug and set it down in front of me as he wiped his hands.

“Will Dr. Vieira be able to use the chip inside me to get his information, or is he going to pull more blood?”

Vampire law stated at the end of the bloodlust stage, all new vampires were required to have a computer chip inserted under their skin. It was a way for the vampire government to keep track of their people. The tiny device housed all our personal information and even stored stats like our heart rate data and blood type.

“The chip is not sophisticated enough to analyze your DNA. Besides, he wants to compare the new results to the old ones he’d taken from you when you were a day-old vampire.”

“Why? Is there something wrong?” I tapped my foot on the bottom rail of the barstool.

“Your DNA shows some anomalies.”

“Like what?” I wiped my clammy hands on my jeans, still moving my foot.

“Let’s wait until Dr. Vieira has all the results.”

I laughed nervously. What else could I possibly have in my DNA?

“It’s funny?” Dad asked.

“Well, kind of. I would’ve never thought in a gazillion years that I carried a vampire gene. Now you’re telling me Dr. Vieira thinks there’s more to my DNA. Again, what does that mean? Are you going to tell me I’m part lion or wolf?” I laughed again. Saying it out loud was even more absurd.

“Jo, try not worry about what Dr. Vieira speculates. He’s a great doctor and very interested in our genetics.”

I admired the vampire. I’d never thought about my future before, but hanging around Dr. Vieira was proving to me that maybe I’d want to learn more about medicine and genetics.

“Really,” Dad answered to my thought.

“Yeah. Maybe. I’m curious about how natural-born vampires can switch from human to vampire. And as you said, we’re still evolving. I want to know everything about our species, especially if Uncle Patrick can fabricate a serum to force pure humans to become vampires. I want to learn how to stop him. You didn’t see how evil Blake Turner was. I don’t want to live among a creature like him.”

Wow! Where did all that come from? I knew I’d been curious. Even Dr. Vieira caught on to my curiosity.

Dad circled the bar and hugged me. “I’ve seen vast changes in you in such a short time. You sound like a woman who knows what she wants. Are you sure you’re still my teenage daughter? Where’s the one who argues with me or throws temper tantrums?”

I smiled as he backed away. “Don’t worry, Dad. That part of me is still there.”

“Darn. And I was hoping I didn’t have to deal with any more outbursts.”

We both laughed, a new sound from Dad. I rarely heard any type of happiness from my father.

After our conversation, Dad retreated to his office. I hung out in the apartment, listening to music since neither Webb nor Sam was around. Webb and the sentinels had training at an offsite location and wouldn’t return until tomorrow. Sam tagged along with Dad’s permission. Every chance my brother had, he trained. Olivia had been bugging me to train, and I needed to continue my physical exercises. My powers would only go so far in a fight. Although if I could master my abilities, I wasn’t sure I would need to exert myself physically.

The apartment was quiet except for my music. It was great to spend time by myself after all that had happened over the past week with Edmund trying to kill me, Nicki making an appearance, and Ben. Well, I hoped Dad would find him soon. As I lay on my bed, “The Crow and the Butterfly” by Shinedown began. The song made me think of Webb, mainly because he’d said how my skin was as soft as a butterfly’s wing. How I wished I was back sitting in Webb’s living room, watching the waves crash along the shore. I’d probably not get a chance to go back for a long time. I wasn’t certain of that, but my intuition didn’t give me a warm and fuzzy feeling, especially with my upcoming trial.

I traded my fleeting thought of my trial for thoughts of Darcy. Dad had said he would let me know when she arrived. I was dying to ask her how she’d been doing since we rescued her. If she talked with Ben, how did the exchange go? Did she notice anything unusual about him? How did he treat her?

At least now that she knew vampires existed, I could talk more freely about my life. Well, to a certain extent. I didn’t think Dad would want me to share my special abilities.

My phone rang. I turned down the music. “Hello.”

“Pumpkin, Darcy is here. Come down to the lobby. We’re meeting her at the library,” Dad said.

I hung up, turned off the small stereo I had in my room, and slipped on my shoes. I pocketed my phone in my jeans then headed out to meet Dad.

He was talking to Ruth, the receptionist, when I exited the elevator. I smiled at Ruth, who looked up at me from her seat behind the circular desk. Her blond hair was up in a pretty bun, and her lips were painted a peach color. Dad stood in front of the chest-high counter, signing a piece of paper.

“Please make sure this gets out today, Ruth,” Dad said, handing the paper back to her, then he turned to me and extended his arm.

I walked into him as he draped his arm over my shoulder. Then we walked out in the bright sunshine and humid air. I welcomed the warmth. A silly part of me thanked the vampire gods for allowing my species to walk in the sun.

“How’s your bloodlust?” Dad asked.

A vampire rode by us on his bike.

“It’s getting better. I didn’t have any cravings when the human lady, Lauren, drove us into town the other night.” I’d been surprised at myself. It had been hours since I had blood that day.

“In another month or so, your blood cravings should diminish considerably. The magic number, I’ve found, is three months.”

“So I could be around humans more?”

Another bike rider sped past us as we stopped at the entrance to the library.

“I wouldn’t go that far just yet,” Dad said. “In fact, I want to prepare you. Today is Ms. Simpson’s reading circle with a group of military children who live on base. They’re all human, Jo. There’s no spell to mask their scent. If I get any signs you’re losing control, we’ll leave.”

“Dad, I’m fine.” I didn’t know how I would react to a room full of humans. “Does Ms. Simpson know we’re vampires?” I’d only met her once.

“She does. She’s one of a few humans on this base who does,” he said as we climbed the stairs.

Several scents accosted me when we entered the library—old books, lemon, humans, and Darcy’s cotton-candy fragrance. Dad held me back from stepping farther into the room.

“Oh, my God,” Darcy squealed, skipping toward me, her blond ponytail bouncing.

“Darcy,” Dad said. “We talked about this. Let Jo get used to your scent for a minute.”

“Sorry, Mr. Mason.”

“I’m good, Dad.” My throat didn’t burn, my fangs didn’t drop, and my body didn’t crave any human blood—at least, not at the moment. I chalked up my lack of craving to the fact that I’d just had my morning ration, and to my maturity as a vampire, which Dad and I had just spoken about.

“Girls.” Ms. Simpson rose from her chair, pushing her bangs to the side. “Why don’t you sit over there and catch up before the children arrive?” She pointed a crimson nail to a table behind her desk.

“Come on, Jo. We have a lot to talk about.” Darcy tugged on my wrist.

“Ms. Simpson, how is your mother?” Dad asked.

“The doctor is running more tests. He tells us not to worry.”

Darcy and I slid into the chairs, sitting across from one another.

“Jo, focus, girl.” She lightly kicked my shin.

“Ow. I was listening to… Never mind.” I was here to catch up with my best friend, although I was curious what was wrong with Ms. Simpson’s mother.

“How are you?” Darcy gushed. “I can’t even believe I’m here because my father made a deal with the devil. And”—she sucked in air—“I can’t believe your picture was in the newspaper. Have you seen it? What happened?”

She finally took another breath. I had to take in oxygen, just listening to her.

“Um…I’m not sure where to start, after all that.” I chuckled as I rested my elbows on the table.

“Sorry. I’ve been dying to talk to you. I don’t have your number. I tried to call Ben to see if he had it, but I got his voicemail. Have you’ve seen Ben?”

Dad’s voice entered my head.
Change the subject. She doesn’t need to know about Ben.

Without looking at Dad, I shook my head. “No, but Sam told me he went to baseball camp,” I lied.

“Where is your sexy brother?” She smiled.

I narrowed my eyes.

“What? He’s hot.”

“Darcy,” I warned. “Sam’s off-limits.”

“He’s a big boy. He can make up his own mind,” she argued.

Not that I had any authority over who my brother dated, but I didn’t think Sam had the patience for Darcy, let alone for a human.

“Are you forgetting he’s a vampire? Wait. You like Ben. I saw how he kissed you on the boat.”

The kiss was passionate, and I got the impression Ben and Darcy were in love.

“Oh, yeah…” She touched her lips. “There’s nothing between us, not anymore. He took me to the school dance.” She sat back in her chair. “Afterwards we went to the movies a few times. Now, I don’t know.” She shrugged a delicate shoulder.

Excited voices pierced the air. We both glanced at the toddlers who were running in as though they had been given a cup of sugar before reading time.

“Children,” Ms. Simpson said in a raised voice.

A little girl bounced up to my dad. “’Mander, ’Mander,” she cooed.

Dad opened his arms, and she leapt into them.

“How is my little wolf?” he asked, twirling her.

Wow! I had a hard time digesting my father and kids. Maybe since I’d never seen him with small children.

“Come on,” Darcy urged. “We should help Ms. Simpson. We’ll talk more later.”

She bounced off to wrangle a couple of boys, and I had to find out who’d snagged my dad’s attention.

“Who is this pretty little one?” I asked Dad.

“Jo, this is Abbey Quade.” He settled the little girl on his hip while she rested a tiny arm on his shoulder.

“Hi, Abbey.” I raised my hand. “I’m Jo.”

“Why do you have thilver eyes?” Abbey’s cute little lisp sprayed saliva my way.

“Do you like my eyes?”