Chapter Ten
At the sound of loudening voices, Kira's eyes fluttered open. Bright light stung her pupils, so she instinctively closed her lids again. Upon hearing her name, Kira made sure to keep them shut. Conscious of her quickening breath, Kira counted to four and breathed out, held it, then counted for four while breathing in - a meditation exercise Luke had taught her. She wanted to hear what the boys were saying without Tristan picking up on her quickening pulse. It wasn't like eavesdropping was illegal or anything.
"Oh, come on Luke!" Tristan said with frustration evident in his tone. His voice came from the front seat and Kira realized he was driving now. She must have slept through the last rest stop.
"What?" Luke responded, feigning ignorance.
"Just admit it, will you?
"I told you, I'm here to keep her safe. Nothing more."
"We both know Kira can hold her own in a fight."
"Maybe that's not what I'm keeping her safe from..." Luke said in an accusatory voice.
Tristan laughed darkly under his breath. "From what, me? Do you honestly think Kira would still be with me if she was at all afraid of me? She's stronger than that. Just admit you're here to try and win her over."
"Why, are you threatened?" Luke asked and Kira could hear the slight strain of hope in his voice. He was trying to be tough, but it wasn't in him to be intimidating. He was too good-natured.
"Kira and I share something you'll never understand. We're both outcasts, and as much as I hate to admit it, we're both beings that sound bad on paper but strive to be good," Tristan said sadly.
"Are we talking about the same person here?" Luke asked incredulously.
"Come on, a vampire that needs blood to survive? Evil. But add a soul and the line isn't so clear: not good, but not evil either. Mixed-blood conduit that could mean the end of the world as we know it? Not good. But add Kira's will and heart and strength, and it becomes far more complicated." Tristan paused, trying to find the correct words. Kira hung on his breath like a lifeline, wondering whether the sentence that followed would push her off the edge or carry her to safety. "We both know what it's like to not fit in, to strive to change the destiny that's been set for us. Kira means everything to me because she gets it and she's the only one who ever has. You look at me and see a vampire, but she looks at me and sees a person."
Kira couldn't contain the smile that widened her lips, but thankfully she was still turned away from them so neither boy noticed. Conduits look at me and see something dangerous, she wanted to say, but you look at me and see something beautiful. She couldn't help the sense of warmth blossoming in her chest, but Kira tried to still her senses. She wasn't ready for the eavesdropping to be over. It was just getting interesting.
"Yeah, well, I happen to think Kira and I share something special too, something you'll never understand. Mortality, for one. And, how about a penchant for home-cooked meals? She does want to be a chef, you know. Pretty hard to test out new recipes with a boyfriend who can't eat food."
All the bitterness Luke never showed her was starting to seep out. He tried so hard to be the happy, go-lucky best friend who could always cheer her up, which she loved, but she wished he wouldn't keep so much inside. Sometimes, it was all right to be real and emotional.
And then the tone of his voice changed. Kira sensed that something inside of him was finally letting go.
"We'd be happy, Kira and I. I know you make her happy, but I would too. We're always laughing and together we can make any situation a good one. I may not be alone in the world, but that's only part of what she is. The other part is all fire and that's something you'll never understand, Tristan."
But Kira understood. As much as she wanted to deny it, his words rang true. A sense of peace and pride leaked into her mind, bubbling over from Luke's head into her own. For the first time in a long time, Kira knew he was speaking from the heart. Part of her wished she could turn her ears off, but the strength of Luke's conviction kept her from blocking him out.
"She doesn't have to worry about being in control around me," he kept going, impassioned by Tristan's lack of retort, "because I'll always be there to ground her. You might be Kira's boyfriend, but I'm her other half. I'm her rock. When she goes into that dark place inside herself, you need to run into the other direction to save your own life, but I can run towards her to bring her back home. And that's what I meant by keeping her safe. Not from vampires and not from you, but from herself. Now you admit it, Tristan. Admit that I'm the only person who can do that."
The silence in the car was deafening and it cut like a knife piercing Kira's heart. Tristan would never admit that he agreed with Luke, but his lack of response was all anyone needed to hear. She loved him, really loved him, but Luke's words were undeniable.
She wanted to reach out for his hand and tell him she didn't care, that she didn't need Tristan to save her. All she needed was more control and she would get that and they could be together. It would all work out, Kira had to believe it. Tristan was too important to her and their future together was too important to just drop without a fight.
She wanted to say all of those things, but instead Kira let her pulse race and turned over with a sleepy groan.
"She's waking up," Tristan said just to say something — just to keep Luke from having the last word.
Kira let her eyes open and played dumb. "Talking about anything interesting?" She asked, fooling herself with the scratchy, sleepy pitch.
"Just your obnoxiously loud snoring," Luke said, instantly carefree again. Kira could feel the change in her mind, the thoughts of his she had been trying to ignore just disappeared entirely. Sometimes, she wished she could flip the switch like that. Even now, her mind was running at a mile a minute because of what she had overheard.
"I do not snore," she said indignantly, playing the part as best she could.
"My bloodshot, sleep deprived eyes totally disagree with you. Look at them. I look like a creepy zombie or something." Kira looked back and choked on her own breath when she met his eyes. She did not snore, but something must have kept him up all night because he looked like crap.
Her eyes wandered to Tristan, who, she was happy to see, was still wearing the puppy shirt. He looked slightly defeated with hunched shoulders and a hollow straight-ahead stare. She reached over and entwined their fingers together, comforting him as best she could without giving anything away.
"So, what's the plan?" Kira asked as a sign that read 'Baltimore — 30 miles' flashed by the window.
"Unfortunately," Tristan started, "I need to leave early to meet with the head vampire in this region. I need permission for a prolonged stay and I want to question him. It's possible he may have seen Diana recently and could tell us where she is."
"And where is this guy?" Kira asked.
"An old plantation, of course. Vampires are nothing if not slightly old fashioned, but it's only five or ten miles outside of the city."
"Okay," Kira said reluctantly. "And Luke, what's our plan?"
"Well," he said and Kira knew instantly that he was about to say something she didn't want to hear. His voice always sounded slightly sweeter as if needing to sell her on an idea.
"Spit it out," Kira said with a sigh.
"I'm going to reach out to the local branch of Protectors to see if they've heard anything."
"Sounds fun!"
"Yes, but you can't come."
"What!" Kira turned around in her seat to stare at him with an open mouthed expression. "You can't be serious. Why can't I come?"
"It's full-blood Protectors only. That's just the way it is, I'm sorry."
"So what am I supposed to do then? Sit in the car and twiddle my thumbs?" Kira glanced from boy to boy, and she had the sneaking suspicion that Tristan was silently communicating with Luke through the rearview mirror.
"We were hoping you could figure out the hotel situation..." Luke said slowly, trying to gauge her anger as the words came out.
"Need me to iron your clothes and cook some dinner too?" Kira snapped.
"That would be awesome," Luke said, jumping out of the way of the punch he had anticipated.
"Seriously, I feel like I've been transported back to forties. The boys go fighting while the girl stays at home." She sat back and crossed her arms. "This sucks."
"But, we'll both be back later tonight and hopefully we'll have enough information to start working on a plan," Tristan told her.
"A plan that I'm part of." It wasn't a question.
Both boys nodded.
She placed her feet on the dashboard and settled in for the rest of the car ride. Tristan pulled off of the highway about seven miles outside of the city and swerved through country roads before pulling to a halt outside of a gated estate. He promised to call Kira with updates and forced them to leave before he notified the vampires of his presence outside.
Twenty minutes later, Luke directed Kira towards a row house closer to the inner city. To her, it looked more like a movie-style frat house than a secret hideaway for conduits, but she trusted Luke and sent him on his way, only eighty percent jealous that she couldn't go.
Okay, completely and totally jealous that she couldn't go. But, he had given her his credit card for the hotel room. And, all that came to Kira's mind was the saying, 'while the cat's away, the mice will play.' Well, while her cats were off doing manly things, Kira would have a little fun, female-style.
She followed the signs towards the inner harbor and drove around trying to find the glitziest hotel in the city.
Brick after brick building greeted her, until she finally broke through to the harbor, which was lively and bright compared to the rest of the city. There were sculptures, a fountain and crowds of people wandering around an outdoor shopping area directly next to the harbor's edge. The water glistened in the sun and made Kira feel like she wasn't in a city at all.
And, right along the road was a humongous, glass-enclosed building that looked like the perfect hotel for her. She pulled in and let the valet take the car to the hotel parking lot.
"Welcome to the Hyatt Regency, may I take your bags for you?" A bellhop said when she walked in and approached the concierge. Very classy, Kira thought and started to hand over her luggage.
She looked down at her and Luke's dirt-encrusted duffels, wondering what she herself must look like, and declined the bellhop's offer.
Kira walked past him towards the front desk. A hot shower was suddenly all she could think about.
"Hello, how may I—" a woman started cheerily, but stopped when she looked up from the desk and actually saw Kira. With a small cough, she continued. "Eh, how can I help you?"
"I'd like a room," Kira said and reached her hand up to her hair self-consciously. Was that mud hardened against her curls?
Another small cough. "Of course, of course. How many beds?"
"Two please. Doubles."
"Harbor view?" The girl asked dubiously.
"Yes," Kira responded. She wanted to splurge. And, this woman was so prissy that Kira just wanted to slap her nose down to a normal angle.
"We do have one room available, but it will be four-hundred dollars a night." She looked at Kira with a tilted head and placed her hand under chin, staring Kira down.
"I've got it, thanks," Kira said and slipped the credit card across the counter top. She tried to cover her gulp and silently hoped Luke would be okay with this. They had a private jet for Pete's sake; a little hotel cost was probably nothing.
"Yes, well, I just need to check this card quickly—"
"Look," Kira paused, searching for a nametag, but she couldn't find one. "Look, lady, I've had a very long day and I just want to take a shower and a nap and I don't need any attitude from you. If you have a room, great. If not, I'll take my loaded credit card somewhere else."
"Just following protocol, miss," she said and continued checking the card. Kira sighed and rolled her eyes, so much for a stab at bravado.
"And will there be anyone else staying with you?"
Ah, crap, Kira thought, there goes my last hope of maintaining any shred of dignity against this woman.
"Um, yes. Two other people."
"Names please, just so we know when they arrive."
"Tristan Kent and Luke Bowrey," Kira mumbled. The woman's eyebrows shot up to the sky.
"Two men?" She said with a smirk. "I just need to confirm their gender for when they come in."
"Yes, that's right. Two boys, each about twenty years old." Kira said with a dismissive wave. Think what you want, she hoped the gesture said, I don't care.
"Room 12B." She slid a room key across the desk. "Have a nice stay."
Kira took it with an overly sweet smile and caught the glass elevator up.
As soon as she opened the door to her room, the view took her breath away. She could see the entire harbor, out past the city even, to where the horizon faded and it was too hard to tell what was ground and what was cloud. When she looked down at the harbor below, Kira noticed a giant wooden ship floating in the water, like something out of a pirate movie, and an awesome triangular shaped building, the famous aquarium from a brochure downstairs. Her gaze followed the water to a raised hillside park and she itched to look at that view too. Being so close to the water reminded her of Charleston. It almost felt like she was home.
While the view was mesmerizing, Kira dropped her bags and retreated to the bathroom. In the fluorescent mirror, she looked even more terrible that she hoped she had looked downstairs. But, hey, what could she expect when she had fought a deranged vampire, got in a car crash and went on a slightly insane killing spree? Kira was amazed that all she had was a little dirt in her hair. Okay, clumps of mud in her hair and swipes of it across her face. All right, she would admit it, it was downright nasty. She bolted to the shower to wash off before taking a long, steaming bath.
Maybe staying behind wasn't the worst thing ever.
It was only a few hours later, after she had cleanup up, gazed at the sunset, watched oodles of television and ordered room service that she realized waiting sort of stunk. She wasn't worried per se, mostly just impatient, but it was a relief when the knob turned fifteen minutes before midnight and Tristan walked through the door.
"Hey!" She sat up from her spot on one of the beds to give him a hug.
"You look comfy," he said with a laugh. Kira looked at her outfit — plush robe, hotels slippers and her favorite pair of fuzzy socks. Sexy lingerie, Kira thought wistfully, why don't I own any sexy lingerie?
"Oh, yeah. Well, you know," she said with a shrug. "Anyway, how was your day?"
He ran a hand through his silky black hair. "You know what?" He said, meeting her eyes quickly. "Let's get out of here. Let's do something fun and let all of this go for a night. Luke will want to hear about everything I learned anyway. Let's just leave that for tomorrow."
He grabbed Kira's hands and she felt giddy from his energy. His blue eyes flashed with excitement.
"Let's do it!" She said and retreated back into the room to quickly change into jeans and a blouse. Tristan, she had noticed when he walked in, wore a crisp white button down, something she was sure he had borrowed from the head vampire.
When they walked out of the hotel, Kira secretly wished the annoying concierge woman was there to drool over Tristan and feel immensely jealous of Kira. But, she unfortunately wasn't.
Instead, Kira walked hand in hand with Tristan towards the harbor, which was still perfectly amazing to her.
The night sky was full of stars that twinkled in the soft waves lapping up against the harbor walls. The sound lulled Kira to a peaceful place and she felt her heart beat slow to the soothing pace.
Tristan watched her as she stared out at the water, as far down the harbor as she could.
"Come on," he said, pulling her hand, "follow me."
Kira walked with him around the bend, ignoring a sleeping homeless man who was sort of ruining the mood. Instead, she looked at the moonlight on Tristan's face, how it glistened in the dark circles of his pupils, all the while casting an incandescent glow on his pearly skin.
They stopped outside of a latched gate that led down a short dock towards bicycle boats. Tristan dropped Kira's hand to grasp the lock.
"Tristan!" She whispered harshly, looking around for anyone who might see them. "What are you doing?"
"We're just going to borrow a boat. No one will even notice," he said sneakily while crushing the lock open.
She followed him down the pontoon dock, her adrenaline pumping with a mix of nerves and excitement.
"Your chariot, my lady," he said while arching his arm over to one of the paddleboats. Kira laughed at the grand gesture but took the hand he offered to help her into the boat. She sat down, placing her feet on the two pedals and waited while he untied it.
"Are you sure we should be doing this?"
"We'll be fine. Have I ever been caught?" He didn't wait for her answer, "Nope. Not when I snuck you into the church or to the Angel Oak that one night this past spring. Or what about when I took you to the aquarium after hours — how much creepier was the shark tank at night when no one else was around?"
"Yeah, okay," Kira eased back into the seat, relaxing. He was right. No matter how many crazy things they did, he never got in trouble.
Tristan jumped into his seat and pushed off the dock with his foot, grabbing Kira's hand in the process.
They pedaled out towards the center of the water, enjoying the silence. After a while, Kira stopped moving and leaned over to put her head on Tristan's shoulder. He stopped to, releasing her hand to put his arm around her.
She looked up at the scene above her. No tall buildings or glaring streetlights blocked her view of the endless glowing specks spattered across the sky: some larger, some brighter and some nothing but dusty glitter.
Normally, people looked up at the vast space and felt small, nearly insignificant. With so many endless possibilities, how could one person's life be so important? But Kira saw something else.
"What are you thinking?" Tristan asked softly into her ear.
"I'm thinking of the stars and how much they scare me sometimes."
"Scare you?" He asked with a hint of surprise on his words.
"So many planets are just floating around in space with no purpose, completely devoid of life. It scares me. The earth is one in a billion, one in a trillion, and I don't want to screw it up." She shook her head, "but that's so stupid, isn't it?"
"Not at all," he said, hugging her a little closer. "But you have nothing to be afraid of."
"Don't I?" She asked, staring up at him and then down at her palms, so small and dainty yet powerful at the same time.
"You know, I tried to draw the night sky once," he said and hugged her closer to his body. "It was a long time ago, right after I'd seen Van Gogh's Starry Night for the first time. But I found that it was too difficult. Something about that endless darkness, sprinkled with light but still the blackest black you'll ever know, is too emotional. You have to look inside yourself to paint something that raw, and I've always been too afraid to actually do it."
"You, afraid?" Kira laughed at that. He was always the first one to step into a fight.
"It's easy to draw other people and look inside of their heads to come up with a secretive expression or an open smile, but it's another thing entirely to look at the truths in your own heart," he kissed her on the forehead. "And that's okay, Kira. I promise."
"Eventually, I'll have to face it though."
"Yeah," he said, "but eventually is not tonight."
Kira reached up and pulled him into a long kiss. One that only ended when a beam of light landed on their faces and a voice shouted, "hey, you!"
Kira jerked back and covered her eyes from the unbearably bright whiteness.
"What do we do?" She punched Tristan on the shoulder. "You said we wouldn't get caught!"
He grinned down at her. "I've been known to be wrong on occasion. Rare, but it happens."
"Pedal!" She wanted to scream, but whispered as if it would keep them hidden for a moment longer.
"Relax, do you see that guy? He's not even a real cop, just harbor police. And, I think he's had one too many donuts if you know what I mean."
Kira rolled her eyes and kept pedaling. They skipped the dock since the cop was standing right there and pedaled towards their hotel instead.
"Stop!" The man yelled at them.
They slowed when the harbor wall neared and Tristan jumped three feet high to land solidly on the brick path. Kira reached her hands up and he easily pulled her free of the boat, which was carried away from them by the waves.
She put her arms around his shoulders and let Tristan carry her piggyback-style towards their hotel. They made it through the lobby doors, into the elevator and into their room before Kira erupted into giggles.
"Did you see his face when you lifted me out of the water?" She asked Tristan, who imitated the wide-eyed shocked look of the cop, causing another fit of laughs.
They stumbled together back into the room and Kira noticed Luke on one of the beds. He was sprawled out and belly-down with his face planted firmly against the pillow.
Quieting down, Kira pulled off her jeans and slipped back into the shorts she had been wearing earlier. Tristan beckoned her to the bed where he was already stretched out and she crawled in next to him, curving her body to fit against his.
Kira grabbed his hand and drew his arm across her stomach, letting him cradle her. She fell asleep peacefully listening to the sound of his breath in her ear.