Pure Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #3) (23 page)

The car was stuffy with shocked silence as
they headed back to Harrison’s house. Gemma knew she had to tell
Harrison the rest of the conversation about wanting to inject him
and their other nasty plans, but by the pallor of his skin, she was
guessing it might be a little too much to handle.

She opened her mouth a few times to say
something, anything, that would make it better, but there was
nothing. Penelope and Alistair Hart were not going to let the
simple fact that Gemma had detached herself from them, stop their
plans. They still had access to Dom and Ruby and it wouldn’t take
much for them to get to Harrison… or Sam. A pre-pubescent time
spirit? They’d be drooling over that one.

She had also made the mistake of admitting
who her real parents were, which meant they would start looking
into Gabe’s past and discover his whereabouts.

Gemma could foresee the landslide of
devastation her parents were going to smother her world with. As
soon as they were out of that evil little room it would be the
beginning of the end. An idea that had been festering grew with
strength and power. She closed her eyes and willed away the tears.
All it would take was one little trip back in time. A trip that
would ensure she was never taken as a baby.

Facio
.

Sacrifice.

It’s what Decimus had done. It’s what Helen
had had to do. Her mother did it to try and save her and now she
was going to have to do it to save everyone she loved. Letting her
gaze brush over Harrison’s face, she felt her heart twist into an
agonizing knot.

I can’t do it.

But it’s the only way.

She knew her arguments for one last travel
would win every time, but she also knew it would tear her heart
into a thousand tiny pieces in the process.

Harrison’s hand rested on her knee, giving it
a gentle squeeze.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “Thank you for coming in
after me.”

“I was scared. I thought they… I thought you
might be…” Harrison clamped his mouth shut and blinked rapidly.

“They wouldn’t have killed me.” She squeezed
his arm to reassure him.

“I bet they want to kill
me
though.”

“Probably.” Gemma felt her insides quake. She
clutched her stomach.

“We’ll think of something, Gem. We’ll stop
them.”

“Yeah, we will.” She forced her lips into a
quivering smile and laid her fingers over Harrison’s. There was no
way she could tell him her plans, he would never let her go and if
she had to say goodbye, she’d never be able to leave him.

* * * *

Much to their surprise, Helen was flittering
around the house when they returned.

“Mom?”

She turned and rushed towards them, wrapping
Harrison in a vice like embrace before pulling back to study his
face.

“What happened to you? What happened to my
house?” She looked around the devastation in the hallway then
turned back to study Harrison’s bruising. “Oh, who cares about the
furniture! Thank God you’re alive.” She hugged him tightly then
stepped back and saw Gemma for the first time.

“Hi.” She gave Harrison’s mother a feeble
wave.

Helen stepped towards her and placed two soft
hands on either side of her face. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

Gemma could only give her a teary-eyed nod.
She didn’t think she’d ever be okay again. Lying the words aloud
seemed impossible.

“Mom, what are you doing here?”

Helen turned back to Harrison, keeping her
hand on Gemma’s arm. “I tossed and turned all night waiting for
your call. By six o’clock this morning I couldn’t handle it
anymore. I told Bryan everything and got on the first plane I
could.”

“You told him… everything?”

“Yes.”

“How’d he take it?”

“Not well, but that’s not my concern right
now. I had to get back and make sure you were okay.”

Gemma felt a wave of sympathy wash through
her as she watched Helen fight the tears she’d probably been
damming up all day.

“He’ll come around,” her voice wobbled. “Now,
sit down immediately and tell me everything, then we can clean up
this mess and make some hot cocoa.”

It was a contradictive hour. Gemma was both
pleased and exhausted sharing the burden of her Thanksgiving. It
helped that Harrison’s mother was so sympathetic and understanding.
She had been waiting for the finger point of judgment to fall, but
Helen had remained motherly and sweet. She couldn’t help wondering
if that would change if Harrison left the room.

After a taxing hour of truths and tears,
Helen clapped her hands together and ordered a clean up. All of
them seemed relieved to have something to do. Helen bossed them
around, making sure broken furniture was removed to the garage for
fixing and smashed crockery was picked from the carpet and cleared
away. Within a couple of hours they were done and Helen sent
Harrison upstairs for a hot shower.

“If you’re expecting me to drink cocoa around
that smell, you’re highly mistaken.”

With a groan Harrison stomped up to the
bathroom, leaving Gemma with the opportunity she’d been dreading,
but hoping, for.

“Hel… Helen,” she stammered her way into the
kitchen. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

“Sure.” Helen continued scooping heaped
spoonfuls of drinking chocolate into mugs as Gemma sat on the edge
of the counter.

“Um,” she struggled to speak past the lump in
her throat and felt her eyes immediately moisten. “Things are gonna
get worse unless I do something about it.”

Helen paused, giving Gemma her full
attention. “What are you thinking of doing?”

Gemma shifted uncomfortably on the bench.
“I’m
putus unus
. I’m the key to this whole thing. They
needed my blood as a starting point. But if they never got it at
all, they couldn’t do this, could they?”

Helen’s expression melted with sympathy.
“Pure blood is the strongest.”

“So, I need to make sure they don’t get me
and I was thinking that if I could stop them from stealing me as a
baby then none of this could happen.” The first tear fell as she
whispered the word none.

It was the most frightening word she’d ever
encountered when it meant that none of the good things in the past
year would happen either. If she grew up with a different life, the
chances of meeting Harrison were miniscule.

Helen dropped the teaspoon into the mug and
placed her hands on the bench with a sigh.

“It’s a good solution, Gemma, but you’d be
sacrificing… I mean… what about Harrison?”

“He’d never know. If I change things, he’ll
grow up never knowing and he’ll meet someone else and be safe… and
happy.” Gemma covered her mouth as the sob traveled up her
body.

Helen wrapped her arms around her and stroked
her hair.

“Shh, sweetheart, it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay,” Gemma shook her head, “but
it’s the only way. If they got their hands on him or Sam… I
couldn’t live with myself. I’m the only one who can stop this.”

Helen stepped back to look at her, a touch of
pride in her expression. “You are a brave girl.”

“There’s something else though,” Gemma wiped
her tears and swallowed. “If I succeed, it means I won’t be able to
go back and save Nathaniel. You’ll never get your letters.”

Helen dropped her gaze with a nod. “I know.”
She cleared her throat, blinking rapidly at her own tears. “But I
sacrificed everything to give Harrison the best chance at life. I
can’t stop now.”

Gemma sniffed and smiled.

“When will you go?”

“I need to talk to Gabe first, but… as soon
as I can.”

Helen drew in a calming breath and stepped
away from her.

“You need to sleep on this decision and you
need to be away from Harrison in order to do that. His presence
will only cloud you. Take my car, go back to Gabe’s and come over
again tomorrow, once you’ve finally decided.”

Gemma hated the idea, but knew Helen was
right. She needed to talk to Gabe and make sure her idea was
plausible.

Grabbing the keys from their usual hook,
Helen placed them in Gemma’s hand. She gripped them tightly then
sighed, passing them back to Helen.

“If I do decide to go, I won’t be coming
back.”

Helen took the keys, a shocked sadness lining
her features.

“But, Harrison…”

“He won’t know any different. Don’t you think
it’ll be kinder that way?”

Helen’s expression softened.

“Besides,” Gemma continued with a wry smile,
“if I had to say goodbye to him, I don’t think I could do it.”

She knew Helen would understand that, she’d
done the same thing with Nathaniel. Gently taking Gemma’s hand,
Helen placed the keys back in her palm. “Take the car. I’ll get it
back either way.”

Jumping from the bench, she gave Helen a
fierce hug.

“Please don’t tell Harrison.”

“If that’s what you want.”

Gemma nodded mutely.

Helen held her face and gave her a soft
smile. “God be with you, sweet girl. I understand now why Harrison
calls you his time angel.”

Struck dumb by the admiration in Helen’s
expression Gemma simply nodded once before racing out the door,
heading straight for an inevitability that would be the death of
her.

Chapter
Thirty-Six

St Augustine, Florida – 2011AD

The only way to make it back to the caravan
was to drive on autopilot. Gemma switched off her emotions, turning
when she was supposed to, signaling correctly and arriving at
Gabe’s place without incident.

She robotically entered the caravan and
spotted Gabe wrapping Simeon’s body in plastic, ready for
transportation to the boat.

“What are you doing here? I told you to stay
put until I was done.” Gabe jumped from his spot and tried to block
Gemma’s view of the body, struggling with the curtain.

In spite of his attempts, her eyes remained
glued to the lifeless form. "You ever heard of traveling cells,
Dad?"

Gabe’s body stilled and he turned to face
her.

"You know when Alistair got all scientific
with me that time, he never mentioned them." She let out a cynical
laugh. "Everything he said to me that night was probably total
crap."

"Science was never my strong suit. What are
they?"

"They're the cells in our blood that give us
the ability to travel. My blood is full of them - big, ripe, juicy
ones and Penelope Hart wants every last one of them." She couldn't
take her eyes of Simeon's lifeless form. "It's my fault he's
dead."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's my blood they used. And they took more
of it today and they will keep on trying to perfect her stupid
formula. They don't care how many people they take out along the
way. What's the bet, once they've got it right, they'll use it on
themselves. They'll be traveling again in no time... and then
what?"

Gabe's eyes sparked with anger. "You went
back there? I told you not to see them again."

"I just thought that if they knew Simeon had
died, they might stop,” her voice quivered. “I was wrong.”

“Did they hurt you?”

Gemma shook her head. “Not really. Just the
blood thing, I guess.” She held up her arm. “Harrison came and got
me out.”

Gabe closed his eyes, obviously struggling to
keep his cool.

"I can't let them do this." She couldn’t see
Simeon’s face through the plastic, but she could picture the
details of his smile. Her mind morphed it into Harrison’s. The idea
of her boyfriend stiff, pale and wrapped in plastic was horrifying.
She closed her eyes against the nauseating image and nodded her
head.

"What are you thinking?"

"That they can't have one drop of blood or
one piece of my heart." She finally looked at him, her eyes
blazing.

Gabe studied her for a long beat, reading her
expression, knowing what she was about to say.

"I'm going back, Dad. I'm going to make this
right."

“You sure you want to do that?”

She looked away from him and whispered, “I
need to go as soon as possible. They won't stop unless I do
something about it.”

The room pulsed with a slow, silent beat.
Gemma opened her eyes and looked at her father. He looked sad,
resigned and also a little proud. She winced and looked away.

“I guess we better get to work then.”

“Can we…” Gemma looked at the corpse. “Can we
bury him first?”

“We’ll have to wait until it’s dark, but I
promise it will be out of here before we go to bed.”

“Thanks.” Gemma’s voice sounded dead as Gabe
turned to try and hide the body from her.

Finally winning over the curtain, he pulled
it across his bed and strode towards the cabinets beneath the
couch. Within a matter of minutes the small table was piled high
with photos of a young family who had set up base in a little town
called Grants Pass in Oregon.

“I don’t really have any good shots of the
house. All I can tell ya is we lived at number seven, Butler
Avenue.” Gabe scratched his whiskers, obviously unsatisfied with
sending his daughter back on such sketchy details. “Unless you head
to the mall, we can easily find some good 1993 pictures of that.
Then you can make your way on foot. It’s only a few miles. Actually
that’s better… you can sneak in and grab some clothes. We’ll make
sure you head back after closing hours. I had a friend who used to
work there, I know a way in that won’t trigger any alarms.”

Gemma looked at him with a mixture of
surprise and skepticism.

“I’m not a thief, if that’s what you’re
thinking. He just showed me one day.”

“Sure, Dad.” Gemma patted him on the
shoulder.

“Can we just get on with this please?”

“Mm-hm.”

The rest of the night was worn away with
details, details, details. The next morning Gemma was at the
library going over more details, details, details on the Internet.
She arrived back at the caravan late that afternoon drained, yet
determined. She now felt confident she could pull it off, she just
wasn’t sure if she could will herself to do it.