On the Edge of Destiny (Book 3) (A Vampire SEAL Novel) (14 page)

“Good,” Dad said. “Jo, I’ll be back in about an hour.” He grabbed his keys from the table next to the door, then he was gone.

Daylight waned as we flipped through channels. Sam had begged Dad for a TV so he could watch sports, mostly. Dad had broken down recently and bought one.

Watching TV seemed to calm my mind, and right now, I wanted nothing more than not to think about my DNA, Abbey, Edmund, Darcy’s safety, and all the other vampire drama in my life.

“There’s an episode of
The
Vampire Diaries
on. Do you want to watch it?” she asked, a little too excitedly.

So much for escaping paranormal drama. I broke out in a fit of giggles. “You want to watch a vampire show with your best friend who is a vampire?”

Kodiak even laughed. “You girls watch that crap?”

“I do,” Darcy said, rather proudly. “Well, I just started. After I found out Jo was a vampire, I had to see what the show was all about.”

I rolled my eyes as we both settled in, and the show opened. Kodiak mumbled something under his breath. I harrumphed several times through the next hour as I compared my own life to the make-believe vampire series. Even Kodiak spewed noises along with me. In TV land, vampires were created by being bitten by another vampire. In my world, humans became vampires only if they carried a gene, and even then, they had to choose to activate that gene. Though if Edmund succeeded in his quest to build an army of vampires, maybe the TV show wouldn’t be too far off the mark.

With the credits rolling, I stood up to stretch my sleeping limbs then darted to the fridge. All the vampire biting on TV spurred my hunger.

“Stay tuned for breaking news,” a lady’s voice said from the TV.

I tossed Darcy a bottle of water then warmed my mug of blood. The microwave dinged as Dad, Sam, and Webb trudged into the apartment. Kodiak stood at attention.

“At ease, Snow.” Dad threw his keys on the hall table.

“Is ESPN on?” Sam snatched the remote from Darcy, plopping down on the lone chair.

“We were just watching—”

“The news,” Kodiak interrupted, cutting off Darcy.

I snickered. I guessed the manly sentinel didn’t want his superiors to know he’d been watching a vampire soap opera.

“Authorities are concerned we might have a widespread problem on our hands. In the last two months, several teenagers have been reported missing in the tri-state area.”

The room fell silent as we all directed our attention to the pretty lady on the screen.

“We have reporters standing by in Providence and Portland. We’ll start with Portland. Dale, what have you found?”

The screen changed to a short, squat man who was wearing a white golf shirt. “Well, Dee, the authorities here in Maine are not sharing much information. What we do know is the missing teens are all boys.”

The mug slipped out of my hands, shattering on the floor. Did Edmund have anything to do with the missing teens? He had kidnapped several from Durfee High School, but when we raided the mansion, we’d only rescued two.

“What is it?” Webb appeared at my side.

“What happened to the two boys we rescued?”

“They didn’t make it, Jo.” He bent down to pick up the broken pieces.

My heart went out to them and their family…but if they had lived, they could’ve turned into monsters like Blake Turner. I grabbed some paper towels off the counter near the stove. Webb deposited the broken mug into the trash under the sink while I wiped up the blood.

Dad turned off the TV and sprang into commander mode.

“Darcy, Kodiak will take you back to your room.”

I stood up with the dirty paper towels in my hand. “Dad, can she stay?” I didn’t want to be alone, and something told me she didn’t, either. She’d been thinking too much about Edmund today, and this was her first night here.

“
No
,” he said.

Darcy frowned. I contemplated arguing, but I wasn’t sure I could trust myself. What if I woke up in the middle of the night and snacked on her? Or what if Sam did that? We said our good-byes and made plans for me to see her tomorrow.

Once Kodiak and Darcy had left, I resumed cleaning the rest of the floor then threw away the towels and washed my hands.

Sam asked, “Are the reporters right?”

“I don’t know. I’ll contact my superiors,” Dad said.

“I’ll check in with Stan and George,” Webb stated. “Also, I did get more info on that lady, Lauren.”

I wiped my hands on my jeans as I made my way over to the couch and sat down. I tucked my legs underneath me as I grabbed a pillow, making myself comfortable.

“My sources tell me, she’s a lawyer out of Boston. In fact, she works in Mr. Rose’s office.” Webb leaned on his knees as he eased down into a chair, keeping his eye on Dad.

“Seriously?” How odd. “Did you know that when you read her card?”

“No.” Webb swung his gaze to me.

“Lauren is the least of our worries.” Dad scrubbed a hand over his face. “It’s late. Let’s get some rest. Jo and Sam, remember you have your physical in the morning.”

I disagreed with Dad. Lauren played a role in our lives somehow. I just didn’t know how yet.

Chapter 13

D
arkness squeezed me as fog swirled, clinging to my body. I adjusted my vision to see better, only to find myself imprisoned by tall redwoods. A musty, decaying odor hung in the air. It had to be from the decomposing detritus seeping between my toes. A light shone from somewhere in the distance.

A familiar voice cut through the fog-laden night. “Follow the light, my child.”

My eerie feeling melted into downright fear. That old man had graced my dreams several times before.

“You must hurry,” the old man said calmly.

The hairs on the back of my neck stiffened. Stepping toward the thin ray of light, I prayed with all my might I could wedge my body through the opening.

A twig snapped under my foot. The sound ricocheted like cannon fire. Creatures started howling.

I ignored my sixth sense that told me to turn around and run. I pushed on, but my shirt caught on a piece of bark. I unhooked it and kept going.

“Very good. Now, follow the paved path.”

What path? All I saw through the fog was broken branches and leaves.

“Go around the large rock,” the old man instructed. “There you’ll find the path. I urge you to make haste, child.”

Panic set in, along with the desire to strangle the old man. I stepped cautiously, ensuring I didn’t step into a hole or off a cliff. After ten agonizing steps, I zigzagged around another cluster of trees before the rock the old man spoke of shone like a lighthouse through the fog. Inscribed in the jagged stone was
He who enters must not linger.
What did that mean?

As the fog lifted, so did my gaze. Instead of the tall trees, headstones and coffins dotted the landscape in every direction beyond the rock. I thought to run, but a faint memory reminded me to listen to the old man.

“Time is of the essence,” he warned.

I scanned the landscape once again and found the old man kneeling at an altar in front of an open coffin in the distance. A halo of light beamed down over him as he looked directly at me.

“Serapis, guide the child,” he ordered.

I walked around the rock to find the panther sauntering up the narrow path toward me, amber eyes glowing. I automatically turned, searching for refuge. But the trees behind me had vanished. In their place, a large brick wall rose high into the midnight sky.

“You can only move forward from here, my child. Wait for Serapis.”

The panther bowed his head, as if to say, “Hi. Nice to see you again.”

I slowly nodded in return, going up to the amazing animal. He wiped his nose against my thigh, and I unthinkingly petted his head.

The area came to life. Men, women, and children roamed aimlessly, as though they were searching for life or loved ones. I quickly removed my hand, and the people became coffins. I stilled when I spied a body in the coffin the old man knelt in front of. My throat became dry, my legs weak.

“You must join me, child. I need to prepare you.”

I shook my head. Something in me told me I shouldn’t go anywhere near him or the coffin.

A bang sounded from somewhere behind me, jarring me out of my stupor.

The old man’s voice lowered to a growl. “Serapis, bring her.”

Backing away from the panther’s narrowed gaze, I screamed, and so did the creatures and maybe even the dead. Howls and hoots competed with me until something soft and soothing rose above everything and everyone else.

“Wake up, Jo,” the voice said, low and soft. “Pumpkin.”

Another scream tore from my lungs as I opened my eyes. “Let me go. I don’t want to go over there. I can’t.” Tears streamed down my cheeks.

“Shhh. You were dreaming,” Dad crooned, holding me.

I shook violently as the dream burned in my brain. I wiped away tears.

“A bad dream?” Dad asked.

“The old man. He’s back. He was kneeling in front of a…coffin. He sent his panther to guide me to him. He wanted me to join him. I didn’t want to see who was in there.”

“Panther?” Sam staggered in, hair sticking in every direction. He crawled up the bed on the other side of me.

“Tell me more of your dream,” Dad said. He made himself comfortable as he sat back against the headboard.

“I want to hear about the panther.” Sam yawned.

As the three of us lounged on my bed, shadows playing on the ceiling, I pitched into a play-by-play of my dream. I even recounted my first one, when I’d met the old man.

“So you don’t know who was in the coffin?” Sam asked.

“No. And I don’t want to know.” I sniffled.

“As vampires, our dreams can give insight into our futures.” Dad had mentioned that to me before.

“Does that mean I’m the one in the coffin?” I might not be enamored with my vampire status, but I didn’t want to die. I still had things I wanted to accomplish in my life.

“There’s a reason the old man wanted you to see who was in the coffin. From what you’ve told me, he seems to be helping you.”

“He may be, but he’s also confusing.” In my first dream, a few weeks back, he’d rattled off some wisdom about me protecting humanity.

“Most dreams are, pumpkin.” He draped an arm over my shoulder.

I leaned against him with my head on his chest as Sam fell asleep.

“Dad, tell me more about Abbey,” I said.

“The vision she showed you. Was it your dream?” He crossed one ankle over the other.

“I don’t know. When she touched me, I was in a forest, but my dream didn’t have someone behind me with red eyes. Does her father have red vampire eyes like Edmund?”

His hold on me tightened. “Edmund is her father,” he whispered.

The world spun, or maybe my head twirled with shock. I wasn’t sure I was even breathing. “I thought her father…”

“Quade is essentially her father. He met her mom, Rachel, not long after Edmund was out of her life and out of the sentinels.”

“Are you sure then that Abbey is Edmund’s child?” I straightened and looked at Dad.

“Yeah, she is.” He pulled me to him. “Rachel found out she was two months pregnant when she and Quade met. And Dr. Vieira tested Abbey’s DNA against Edmund’s medical records.”

“So does Edmund know?” I didn’t think he did, for some reason.

“He must never know.” He kissed my head. “He and my brother would use her as a lab specimen to fund their mission of building the perfect army.”

“But she’s his flesh and blood.” Edmund was an evil vampire, at least to me, but that didn’t mean he shouldn’t know he had a daughter. Maybe if he knew he had a child he would change his ways.

“Yes, and she’s human right now—a perfect age to study genetics. Aside from her mom and Quade, only Webb, me, and now you have this information. And I’m telling you this because I know you’ll keep asking. And I don’t want you to bring up this subject in front of any of the sentinels again. It is not to be discussed, whispered, or questioned from here on out. Do you understand, Jo?”

Inwardly, I smiled. For Dad to trust me with this information said a lot about how far our relationship had come. A month ago he would’ve told me it was none of my business.

“I get it, Dad. So how does she know her father has red eyes?”

“I suspect her visions.”

“Oh! She was trying to show me today when she touched me.”

“Maybe,” he said.

We sat quietly. The only sound in the room was Sam’s breathing, which I hadn’t noticed until now.

“Do you think she saw him earlier today?” I murmured.

“No. We found Ben’s car not far from the base. We think he was trying to sneak in again.” He rose. “We have a few hours until daylight. Get some rest.”

“What about Sam?”

We both looked at my brother. He had one arm underneath the pillow while the other one was tucked in close to him.

“Leave him. He’ll be fine.”

Wow, I hadn’t slept in the same bed with my brother since we were toddlers. Most of our foster homes hadn’t had enough beds, so we would share. Now we were adults, and even though I loved him to death, it seemed awkward.

Dad retired to his room. I tried to sleep over Sam’s heavy breathing and occasional snorts. A few times I punched him then laughed. My efforts didn’t work at all. He was dead to the world.

So I lay lost in thought about Abbey and Edmund. Aside from both having black hair, I didn’t see any resemblance between the two.

“You can’t sleep?” Sam asked as he stretched.

“How can I, with you snoring?” I turned on my side to face Sam and tucked my arm underneath my pillow.

“You want to tell me what’s bothering you? Is it your dream?” He rubbed his left eye.

I wasn’t allowed to tell him what Dad had shared about Abbey. “What do you think the future holds for us, Sam?”

“Sis, I’m not a fortune teller. I’m an Empath.” His tone was soft.

“I know. But what do you think?” Neither he nor I could foresee the future, but I wanted his thoughts.

He sat up, adjusting the pillow behind him. “I think we have a very challenging road ahead, Sis. If the story on the news is correct, and Edmund is responsible, we have a battle to stop his operation. Then there’s Ben. We don’t know what he is now or what he’s going to do. And let’s not forget the death of the Secretary of the Navy. Dad’s innocence is still up for discussion.”

I’d forgotten all about Dad’s grand jury hearing, although he hadn’t yet mentioned when it would be.

“The most important topic”—Sam raised his eyebrows—“is your court hearing for Blake’s death. When is it?”

“No idea. I guess I should ask Dad.” Not that I wanted to even bring up the subject.

A tiny ray of light sneaked in through a slit in the curtains.

“Was Kate or Edmund at the training facility yesterday?” The less I thought about the Council and what they might do to me, the better.

“Kate was, but not Edmund. At least, I didn’t see him.”

“I figured as much.”

“Didn’t Webb tell you?” He looked down at me.

“He told me she wasn’t there.” I should be upset that he lied, but all I felt right now was worry about our future, about why Kate wanted to kill Webb and what Edmund had in store for us. Plus the dream kind of freaked me out. Was it a snapshot of what the future held? If so, who was in that coffin? “So she’s still trying to kill him?” I sat up.

“It looks that way. Jo.” Sam grabbed my hand. “You know I would never betray you. Never. You’re my family, my life.”

I wasn’t even thinking about that. Deep in my heart, I knew Sam would never betray me or I, him. Still, his reassurance was exactly what I needed to hear.

Dr. Case greeted Sam and me as we entered the medical facility. He had his hands in the pockets of his blue lab coat.

“What’s he doing here?” Sam asked.

“Helping.” Dr. Case waved his hand out to his right. “You’ll be in the room in the far back corner.”

I shrugged. I’d fill Sam in later. The three of us walked down the center aisle of the medical facility with Dr. Case in the lead.

“A special room just for you two,” Dr. Case said, standing off to the side of the doorway. “Go on in.”

Sam and I walked in. Wow, he was right. Our names were taped to the monitors mounted on the wall—two for Sam and two for me. Two exam tables and two carts with needles, charts, cotton swabs, and specimen slides sat in front of the monitors.

Dr. Case flipped a switch, and the monitors on the wall powered on.

“Glad to see you wore your workout gear,” Dr. Vieira said, gliding into the room. “Up on the tables, both of you.” He punched his password on the keyboard. “Okay, Dr. Case. I’ll take it from here.”

Without a word, Dr. Case left and closed the door behind him.

“You don’t trust him?” I hopped up onto the paper-covered table in front of the monitor with my name on it.

“As you learned yesterday, Jo, he’s here to help decipher any data we have from the thumb drive. Nothing more.”

“Is Olivia okay?” Sam asked as he made himself comfortable on his bench.

“She’s stable. Her immune system has been compromised, so she’ll need time to recover.”

“Have you found out what was in the bullet?” I asked.

“We’re working on it. Now, let’s get started.”

Dr. Vieira slipped his hands into a pair of latex gloves. Then he began drawing blood, swabbing our mouths, checking our hearts, and measuring our height and weight. Once he completed those tasks, Brian, his curly-haired lab assistant, came in and collected our DNA and blood samples then left the room.

Dr. Vieira picked up a wand-like device, pressed a button on the handle, and scanned my computer chip, which was embedded in my lower back on the right. The wand beeped once before my information scrolled across the screen.

Josephine Juno Mason, born December twenty-first. Father: Steven Mars Mason. Brother: Samuel Jove Mason. Blood type: AF negative. Heart rate: twenty bpm. Eye color: silver and violet. Hair: black with purple streaks. Notes: A diamond-shaped birthmark behind left ear. A seven-pointed star tattoo located on back, upper right shoulder.

I read through each line at least five times. I’d forgotten about my birthmark. No one could see it unless I had my hair up, away from my ears.

Dr. Vieira repeated the routine on Sam. I gleaned one new thing about my brother. His heart rate was fifteen beats per minute.

“Why is Sam’s heart rate lower than mine?”

We’d learned early that, as we grew, our pulse would decrease to five beats per minute.

“Everyone is different, Jo, and male vampires advance faster than females in some respects. Females, on the other hand, gain their powers before males.”

Dr. Vieira examined us thoroughly, recording every stat in the computer as he progressed from one area to the other.

After two hours, he pulled off his gloves. “Let’s discuss my findings so far.” He sat down on a rolling stool adjacent to the exam tables, putting the keyboard in his lap, and tapped a few keys. “Here’s your basic data, vitals, height, weight, et cetera.”

Wow, I had grown two inches since turning vampire—five feet, eight inches. Sam had grown four, to six feet, four inches.

“You both have the same blood type.” Dr. Vieira hit a key, and the screen advanced. “Heart rates are dropping nicely to the normal vampire level. I would say another few months, and you should be right in line with five beats per minute or thereabouts.”