The Heart's Ashes (41 page)

“
Lucky you did.” I remembered the gravestones David had shown
me before he left last year—the ones of him and Jason, dying in the
wars.

“
Yes. Lucky. But he’d have forced us to change if we’d not
obliged.”

“
Is he allowed to do that?”

David’s
thoughts stayed hidden behind his smiling eyes. “No.”

“
So, how old is he—your uncle?”

“
Old?” He frowned. “We don’t really measure age after a few
thousand years.”

“
Oh, so,
ancient
is a better word.”

“
Yes, I believe so.”

“
Well, how ancient is he, I mean, like, how long ago was he
born?”

“
He never told us that much, only that he’d been around to see
a first-hand account of the Bubonic Plague and was the first member
of the Council. Probably met Merlin, too.”

We both
laughed softly.

“
That’s kind of gross. Being that old. Doesn’t he, like, rot
or something?”

David laughed.
“Nope, fresh as the day he was born—just smarter.”

“
So, he’s not really your uncle, then? If he was born all
those centuries ago.”

“
Not technically. But we’re descendants of his brother.” David
and I started walking again to a display near a large, open window.
The corner store down the road was cooking sausage-rolls, and the
scent wafted in with the breeze.

“
So, he kind of is your uncle—distant uncle,” I
said.

“
Yes, but I have only ever thought of him as my uncle. And
yet, he’s always been more like a father.” David stuffed his hands
in his pockets and leaned against the wall. “He swore in blood, to
his dying brother, to protect and watch over the blood of Knight,
for eternity.”

“
Must be hard for you, then—to be an outlaw—not be able to see
him anymore?”

David nodded,
looking at the ground. “More than you know.”

“
I’m sorry.” My heart dropped into my stomach.

“
It’s worth it.” He pressed his lips together, then looked up
at me; I smiled—he smiled back.

But the sweet
moment, where everything between us was all right, passed too
quickly; it wasn’t all right, not at all. I’d still kissed Mike and
I’d still dreamed about his brother, who I couldn’t get out of my
head no matter how much I tried.

“
So—” I leaned on the wall beside him. “How come Jason wasn’t
in any of those photos?”

David’s smile
faded. “That was taken after we were separated, when he became a
POW. He was executed sometime in nineteen-sixteen.”

“
Did they bury him?” I always wondered if the boys had to dig
their way out of a coffin after feigning death.

“
Yes.”

Creepy. I almost felt sorry for Jason then. “Have
you
ever been
buried?”

David
hesitated. “No.”

“
Does it bother you to talk about this—to talk about Jason?” I
said.

He studied me carefully; I thickened the mind blanket. “Does
it bother
you
?”

“
No.”

“
It should.” He stood up off the wall and walked to the
window. “It bothers me to
think
of him.”

“
I’m sorry.” I stood beside him. “I guess we both just deal
with things differently.”

“
There’s a picture of him in the World War Two display,” he
said, out of the blue.

“
There is?” My interest peaked, maybe a little too
much.

“
Yes. But it’s not here. It’s in Washington.”

“
Oh.”

David, keeping
his eyes on the day outside, his hands in his pockets, said, “His
plane was shot down during the attack on Pearl Harbour.”

My hand flew
to my mouth. “Oh my God. Was he hurt?”

“
Burned beyond recognition.”

“
What? You can burn?”

“
Yeah,” he scoffed, smiling, coming back to life. “Fire is the
one thing that
can
penetrate us without force of vampire teeth of implements
driven by our hands. It won’t kill us, but it’ll melt our flesh
right off.”

“
Ouch. So, that would’ve really hurt, right?”

“
Well, I’ve never been burned, but Jason said it was the worst
six weeks of his life—trying to recover. He returned to base after
that, told them he’d been lost out at sea all this time—holding
onto a plank of wood to survive.”

“
And they
believed
him?”

“
Well, there was really too much else to be worrying about by
that point. We were officially at war. They all but threw him back
in a plane and sent him off.”

“
Why did he go back? Why not just stay dead?”

David toed a
raised nail in the floorboard. “My brother was the one who wanted
to go to war. I merely followed to protect him. He was hell-bent on
defending this great new world and would never have left his
comrades a man short.”

“
Sounds like a completely different guy.”

He nodded,
taking great interest in something outside, a kind of focused,
furrowed-brow look to him. “He never received any medals or special
honours for his bravery either. Something that, to this day, I find
unjust.”

“
Did he fight well?”

“
He fought like a man with something to die for. All he ever
wanted was to be a hero.”

“
I don’t get it. Why, if you lose compassion for my kind when
you turn, why did he want to be named a hero, I mean, why did you
even bother fighting for us in the war?”

“
Well, I can’t answer that last question for myself, Ara,
because you won’t like the answer. But, as for Jason and his heroic
dreams; that was just him—he…” David drew a breath and let it out
with a huff, “—he never lost
all
compassion for your kind. Well, not
until…”

Until you killed Rochelle.
“And what
about the other question—why can’t you answer it?”

“
I—” He closed his eyes. “Just drop it, okay?”

“
Why?”

“
Ara. Drop it.”

“
Is it because you cared and you don’t want to admit
it?”

“
Ara?”

“
Really, is that it? Because, I know you’re a vampire, David,
and caring isn’t cool, but you don’t have to pretend with me,
I—”

“
Ara, it’s not that.”

“
Then, what is it? Why won’t you tell m—”

“
Because I don’t want you to hate me,” he said loudly, turning
away. “You, with all of your moralistic ideals, your compassion—I
don’t want you to see me for what I really am.”

“
David.” I walked up and touched his arm from behind. “Don’t
you know? Immoral vampire or not, I love y—”

“
Do you?” He spun around with a jerk, his narrowed gaze
splitting right through me. “Tell me honestly, Ara, do you love me?
Am I enough for you?”

“
Is that a joke? Of course I do, David, you’re
everything
to
me.”

“
What about Mike?”

I exhaled through my nose, biting my lip. “It’s intense—being
around him. I don’t know how to feel. I don’t want to feel that
way, and I know it hurts you, but I
can
get past it.” I reached across
and held his fingertips gently. “However, being without you?
That’s
not
something I can get through. I just, it’s weird.” I shook my
head, trying to understand my own words. “I don’t understand it
myself, but, I know I love you.”

“
Is that so?”

“
Yes.”

“
You speak the truth?”

I touched my
chest. “From the bottom of my heart.”

“
And, while I’m still here you’ll deal with the feelings you
have for Mike, you won’t let him touch you again?”

“
I promise.” I held out my pinkie.

He pushed it
aside to wrap me in his arms. “That’s all I needed to know.”

“
But, David?” I pushed out from his hold, sensing a change in
things I wasn’t sure I wanted; safety. David feeling safe in this
relationship. If he felt safe, safe that I’d always be his, he’d
leave again. He was only here because he wanted to make sure I’d
never forget him—never move on from him. “That doesn’t mean we can
be more than friends. As long as
you’re
clear on
that
.” I studied his face with
questioning eyes.

“
Still gonna play this game, huh?”

“
It’s no game. I’m serious.”

“
It won’t make me stay, Ara-Rose.”

“
It’s worth a try. And I have a date with Eric this week, so
you better make your mind up.”

“
Eric?”

“
Yes.”
Great, now I need to book a
date with Eric.

“
Fine.” David smiled—his secret smile. “Go ahead. Go out
with
de la Rose
.
See if I care.”

“
Fine.” I folded my arms slowly. “I will.”

Chapter
13

I perched on
the stool, my back to the piano, and Emily sat across from me,
reading Nicholas Sparks, both of us resting our feet on the ottoman
between us. But I couldn’t focus on my book, no matter how hard I
tried, because the constant boom of roaring enemies lifted my mind
from the plot every five seconds. “You know,” I said to her, “I
think I’ve re-read the same line about six times.”

“
Just tune it out, Ara,” she said in that flat, dull tone
she’d used with me since the Mike and the lake-of-mistakes
incident.

“
I can’t. I don’t know how
you
can. You have better hearing than I
do.”

She shrugged
and went back to reading. I studied her carefully for a minute,
paying close attention to her soft blonde hair, the set of her lips
and the impassive look in her eyes that replaced the smile she
usually wore when reading that tattered old book.

“
What?” she said with a huff, her thumb holding the binding to
mark the page.

“
I’m sorry. I just—don’t you like romance novels anymore? You
don’t seem to be getting the same kind of buzz out of
it.”

“
Maybe I just no longer care for the insignificant quests of
the human heart.”

She went back
to her book and I sat still, breathless for a moment, sitting
across from the friend I knew so well, but suddenly knew nothing of
at all. She really had become a vampire.

“
Die, you wretched—Oh, damn!” Mike said loudly. “You actually
killed me that time!”

“
Told ya I’d get better,” David said.

“
Right. That’s it!” I slammed the book down on the ottoman and
stomped out to the roaring battleground—that used to be my lounge
room. “Good to see you two getting along.” I grinned and sat on the
arm of the sofa, next to Mike. “But, can you keep it
down?”

David, beside
Mike, a game controller in hand, shifted his shoulders in the
direction of his thumbs. “This is harder than it looks.”

“
No, you’re just a newb,” Mike said, looking relaxed beside
David’s anxiousness. He glanced up at me then, making a kill
without watching the screen. “I thought playing this game with a
vampire might be a challenge.”

“
Ha! You’re dead now, brother.” David leaned his elbows on his
knees, quietly moving closer and closer to the screen.

“
Not a chance.” Mike smirked, killing David again.

“
Oh, you bastard.”

Mike laughed
loudly—the old Mike. My carefree best friend.

“
You wait, human.” David nudged him with his elbow. “I’ll get
better at this eventually—then you’ll know what a real fight
is.”

“
Ah!” The boys both roared at the screen—dropping their
controllers on the coffee table.

“
Go on, Ara.” Mike handed a controller to me. “Show this vamp
he’s the only one around here who
sucks
.”

“
What,
Ara
can play?” David practically grunted.

“
As a matter of fact, I can.”

“
Prove it.” He rested his arm on the back of the
couch.

“
You know, she can wipe that smug grin off your face in under
three minutes, mate. She’s got Brigadier ranking on
Live.”

“
Won’t change the fact that she’s a girl,” David scoffed,
instantly shrinking behind raised palms. “I was kidding. That was a
joke!”

I punched him
anyway. “Not funny.”

“
Sorry. I was just teasing.”

“
Go on, Ara,” Mike said. “Teach him a lesson.”

I’m not one to show off, but Mike’s cheeky smile and the
eager anticipation to do
one
thing better than David is
irresistible.

Mike shifted
over as I slumped down beside him, pressing the green button on the
controller. “You ready for this, newb?”

“
Bring it on.” David’s dimple showed as he smiled
back.