chapter Six
As we drove up to the house, I knew instinctively that something was terribly wrong.
“Katrina,” I murmured in trepidation as I glanced at the house. The stone on my neck had begun tingling, which was scary. I had a stone which hung from a chain around my neck and last year, it had tingled or gotten warm anytime there was danger nearby. It still tingled sometimes but it hadn't gotten warm in so long. I reached up to touch it now and could feel the warmth on my fingers.
“Something's wrong,” I told Dylan.
He opened his door and turned to me. “Stay here, let me check things out.”
I watched him go up the steps. He looked around briefly before disappearing into the door. I undid my seat belt and rushed after him, there was no way I was going to sit there, waiting for him. If Katrina was in danger, I would never forgive myself.
I melted into the walls and appeared in the living room. Dylan was standing there holding a note in his hands.
“What is it?” I demanded. “Where is Katrina?”
He took my hand and silently led me to the sofa. When we were both seated, he handed me the note. It was addressed to me and was straight and to the point.
If you want to see your grandmother alive, bring the stone to the address below.
I gazed at the address below in shock. It was where we'd lived several years ago, in London. My parents had run a nightclub right at that address and it was where I'd found them, brutally murdered along with my younger sister. I'd never been back since then and the mere thought of going back there made me so ill, I jumped up and ran to the nearest bathroom and was violently sick.
Katrina was all I had left. I had no other family, I'd lost them all. I lost my grandfather just last year, and I hadn't even known about him until it was too late. I didn't know what I would do if I lost her. I heaved again as the thought crossed my mind. What was I going to do?
I felt a wet towel over my forehead and firm, yet gentle hands holding my hair away from my face. I knew it was Dylan and I hated the thought of his seeing me like that.
When the heaving stopped, I stood straight and moved towards the sink. He turned on the faucet and filled a cup with water then handed it to me. I rinsed out my mouth with the cool water before taking a few sips. After washing my hands, I was ready to go out. He let me go and I followed behind him. I thought of going to the living room but I needed to lie down so I floated up past Katrina's floor to the attic floor where my room was. As soon as I was inside, I headed to my bed and curled up on it.
Dylan wasn't far behind me and he lay beside me and gathered me in his arms. I snuggled closer to him and tried to get rid of the fear permeating every part of my being.
“What are we going to do?” I asked.
“I'll alert the Protector headquarters and we'll wait for orders.” I could feel his voice rumbling in his chest.
“What do you mean we'll wait?” I tried to sit up but he held onto me and after a brief struggle, I gave in and snuggled against him once more.
“We don't know who's behind this or what's waiting for us out there. We need to wait for instructions from HQ.”
“You don't understand, Dylan. This is Katrina, she's all I have and she's out there somewhere. I have to get to her.” I could hear the desperation in my voice.
He was silent for a long time before he finally spoke. “I do understand, Lu. I know what it's like to lose someone you care about. I know how much you love Katrina and we'll go through this together. We're not going to let anything happen to her.”
His words were oddly reassuring and I wondered briefly who he'd lost. Was that the reason he refused to trust anyone? Was he scared of going through this gut-wrenching uncertainty and fear? I couldn't blame him for that. I stifled a yawn as sleep suddenly came over me. I knew it was a defense mechanism but was powerless to stop it.
“I'm so tired,” I muttered.
He stroked my hair softly and leaned down to kiss me. My lips clung to him and I didn't want to let him go. He held on to me too like he didn't want to let me go and it felt so good. He reluctantly broke the kiss and gave me a light peck on the nose.
“You need to rest, Lu. It's going to be a long journey ahead.”
I nodded as my eyes drifted close.
When I opened my eyes, he was lying next to me, his head resting on his palms as he watched me sleep.
“Hey,” he said with a smile.
“Hey. Were you watching me sleep the whole time?” I asked, my voice thick with sleep.
“Yeah. You're so cute when you sleep. You let out these tiny snores, they're adorable.”
“I don't snore!”
“Do too.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Have you any idea how juvenile you just sounded?”
He shrugged with a smile. “We need to be on our way,” he said, swinging his feet off the bed.
“Where are we going?”
“First we'll head for HQ and from there, for London.”
I felt dread well up in me. Think about Katrina. I told myself. Katrina's what's important here.
I tried to smile at him but failed dismally. “I'll need a few minutes to get ready, then we can be on our way.”
He stretched out a hand, which I used to boost myself out of the bed. He pulled me up and as I stood, we were standing toe to toe. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer till I was flush against him. I looked up just as he leaned down and kissed me. I lifted my arms and placed them on his shoulders, drawing comfort from his kisses and his touch.
He drew back slightly. “We're in this together, okay?” he said gazing deep into my eyes.
I nodded. “I know. Thanks.”
He kissed me again then stepped back. “All right then, five minutes and we need to report at HQ for briefing. Did you take those combat lessons I asked you to sign up for?”
During one of his monthly phone calls, he'd badgered me into signing up for vampire combat lessons with some pal of his. I'd been going religiously twice a week since then and told him as much.
He smiled at me and swatted my bum. “Good girl.”
“Hey, watch it!” I frowned at him as I walked to my ensuite to get ready. I had no idea what was waiting for us out there. If he thought I would need combat skills, it meant this was even more dangerous that I'd thought. I sprinkled a handful of water over my face and stared at the mirror above the sink. Was I ready for this? I was going to have to come face to face with my past. A past I'd resolutely refused to discuss or speak about in over four years. I fought down nausea. I didn't think I could do this. But for Katrina's sake, I had to. But dear heavens, I was so scared. I felt chilled to the bone and even the stone lying on my chest seemed to have taken in some of the chill.
“Lu, are you okay? We need to be on our way.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It didn't do anything about the tightness in the pit of my belly, but I figured until it was all over and Katrina was safely back home, I had to learn how to live with that tightness.
I walked out and almost bumped into Dylan leaning against the bathroom door. He looked at me with concern.
“Are you okay?”
I shook my head in a negative gesture. “I don't think I'll be okay until I know Katrina's fine.” I said, my voice hoarse even though I hadn't cried.
He gave me a quick hug. “Then let's go get her back home.”