red haze was upon me. The world had slowed.
My fingers curled around the metal chunk, and
it easily slipped out into my hands. I tossed it
aside. I placed my hands back over the wound,
and I concentrated on pushing my life force into
him as I had done with Alexi. I felt the familiar
tingling warmth emanating from my hands, and
the golden glow slipped between my fingers.
The piercing knives wracked my body with
pain, and I felt a sharp thunderclap headache blast
through my head. I screamed in pain. I gritted my
teeth to try to control it, and pushed more of my
life into Liam. I felt the warm wetness on my
cheeks and under my nose. I tasted the rusty
saltiness of blood on my lips. I looked down, and
the wound had closed completely. Blood dripped
onto my hands.
“Alice!” I heard someone yell just as time
returned to normal.
I looked toward the sound, and I saw Alexi
running down the bank toward me, followed my
Max and Kai. Another wave of intense pain
seized my body, and once again, I was overtaken
by the darkness.
When I woke up, I was back in Alexi’s bed. I
looked around, and I noticed Alexi sleeping in a
chair in the corner of the room.
“Alexi…” I called weakly.
In a flash, he was sitting beside me.
“I was so worried,” he said, holding my hand
gently.
“Liam…” I whispered.
“He’s gone,” Alexi said.
“No!” I gasped. “I couldn’t save him?”
“No, no, no!” Alexi said. “He’s fine. But he
left. You don’t have to worry about him
anymore, because I’m not leaving your side. Not
for anything.”
Alexi’s phone rang, and he sighed. He reached
into his pocket and pulled out the phone.
“What now?” he answered.
“She’s fine, no thanks to you,” he said after a
moment. “She just woke up.”
Again, he listened, and then he said, “No,
Liam. I told you. I don’t want you anywhere near
her ever again.”
“It’s Liam?” I asked, trying to sit up.
“No, she doesn’t walk to talk to you,” Alexi
growled.
“Yes, I do,” I said, reaching for the phone.
Alexi’s mouth scrunched into a frown, and he
reluctantly handed me the phone.
“Liam?” I asked. “Are you alright?”
“You nearly died and you’re worried about
the guy who kidnapped you?” he teased.
“Are you alright?” I repeated.
“I’m fine,” he said. “I’ve been calling and
calling to see if you were okay. Are you?”
“I’m fine, Liam,” I answered.
“Good, good,” he said. “I’m… sorry… about
kidnapping you. It was… a mistake.”
“It’s fine,” I told him. “No hard feelings.”
“I can see what he sees in you,” Liam said. “I
could never see it before, but now I understand.
You are special as they say.”
“Um… thanks,” I said cautiously.
“I’ve spoken to the other Elders on your
behalf,” he said. “They’re going to vote on what
to do about you tomorrow.”
“What to do about me?” I asked. “What does
that…”
Alexi yanked the phone from my hands and
snarled into it, “That’s enough for now, Liam.
She needs to rest.”
As he was hanging up, someone knocked on
the door.
“Not now,” Alexi called.
“Come in,” I said at the same time.
The door opened, and Kai walked in.
“She’s awake,” he said. “I thought you were
going to tell us when she woke up.”
“I just woke up,” I said quickly.
“Oh,” Kai said. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Can you come back later?” Alexi asked Kai.
“Um… sure,” he said. “I’ll tell everyone else
she’s awake. They’ll want to see her.”
“Fine,” he said. “But give me a few minutes,
first.”
“Okay,” Kai said, quietly leaving the room.
“Alice, we need to talk,” Alexi said gravely.
“What’s wrong?”
“I take it Liam mentioned the meeting of the
Council
of
that’s
taking
place
tomorrow?”
“He mentioned they were going to vote about
what to do with me. What does that mean?”
“They’re voting on whether or not you’re a
danger.”
“A danger? Why would they think I’m a
danger to anyone?”
“Because they don’t seem to be able to
control you.”
“Control me? What does that mean?”
“The Council has ways of controlling those it
wants to join. There are several members who
can use mind control to gain… compliance.
Their abilities don’t seem to work on you.”
“I see. So what if they decide I’m a danger?
What will they do?”
Through clenched teeth, he said, “They’ll try
to kill you.”
It wasn’t the first time someone had tried to
kill me. I was growing rather numb to it. It didn’t
even frighten me all that much, anymore.
“What are we going to do?”
“Liam is going to speak to the Council
tomorrow. He’s going to tell them you’re no
danger. He’ll relay the fact that you saved his life
despite him kidnapping you. If they listen to him,
they’ll probably vote to try to get you to join
willingly. If you don’t join, they’ll hold another
vote and probably decide to kill you.”
“What, so it’s join or die? Is that it?”
He sighed.
“Basically, yes. I’m sorry. This is why my
father and I haven’t spoken in years. He told me
what he intended to do – to get you to join the
Council when you were eighteen. I told him I
would not allow it, and he took Liam and left.
We’ve hardly spoken since. I haven’t even spoken
to Liam, because he’s been siding with Father.”
“Why is this happening to me? A few months
ago, I was nothing. I had no abilities; I wasn’t
special. I was just an ordinary teenager.”
“You were never ordinary, Alice. Never.
Having these gifts isn’t what makes you special.
It’s who you are that makes you special.”
“But when I had no abilities, I didn’t have
hordes of people trying to kill me.”
“True, but you just don’t understand. You’ve
always had these gifts. They just hadn’t
manifested. There may still be latent abilities
inside you that you haven’t uncovered.”
“There could me more?” I breathed, my eyes
wide. “As if I don’t have enough?”
“It’s possible.”
“Are you going to vote tomorrow?” I asked
suddenly.
&nb
sp; “I am no longer a part of the Council,” he said
solemnly.
“What? Why not?”
“Because of you.”
“Because you’re protecting me.”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry, Alexi. I didn’t mean to cause all of
these problems for you.”
“Don’t apologize. This is my choice. I do it
willingly.”
“I don’t know why.”
“You know why,” he said quietly.
“Alexi… I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Then don’t.”
“But I’m already in love with Kai.”
“And Max,” he reminded me. “But that
doesn’t change anything.”
“Of course it does…”
“No. It changes nothing. It doesn’t change
how I feel, and it doesn’t change what my father
saw.”
“I’m sorry to have to disappoint you.”
“As I said, don’t.”
“It’s not that simple, and you know it.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. I
understand you haven’t experienced what I have,
but I believe you will come to feel the same way
in time.”
“Anyway, what are we going to do about
tomorrow? Are we sticking around until they
vote?”
“I promised my brother that much. I told him I
would take you away immediately if the vote
doesn’t go our way, but he made me promise I
would keep you around until then. We don’t
want to attract any unnecessary attention that
might swing the vote. If you leave before they
vote, they could decide you are a danger and
that’s why you’re running.”
“I still can’t believe this is happening. It’s
surreal. Why does my life have to be so
complicated?”
“Complex people have complicated lives.
Only the simple live simply.”
“I’m not that complex. I think I’m rather one-
dimensional.”
“Not at all, Alice. Not you. You are extremely
complex.”
“Thanks… I think?”
“It was a compliment, of course.”
“I’m starving. I haven’t eaten or had anything
to drink in two weeks. If I was human, I’d be
dead.”
“If you were human, I’d have taken you to a
hospital.”
“Good point.”
“Alright, let’s get you something to eat.
Anything you want. Then we should probably get
you fed later, just in case. We don’t want you to
be weak if we have to leave.”
“It doesn’t matter what I eat. Anything is
fine.”
“I’ll get you something. Do you want to eat
up here?”
“I’d actually like to eat outside, if that’s
okay.”
“Of course. I’ll bring you something by the
pool?’
“Thanks, Alexi. I really appreciate all you’ve
done for me.”
“You know I would do anything for you.”
“I know.”
Alexi kissed my forehead and left, and I went
to find Kai. I’d hardly seen him, Max, or even my
family in ages. I found Kai sitting in a patio chair
out back by the pool. It was dark outside, and the
crisp night air made his burgundy hair flutter
around his face.
“Hey,” I said.
He turned around, and when he saw me, his
face lit up. He jumped up so quickly he nearly
turned the chair over. He threw his arms around
me, lifted me from the ground, and spun me in a
circle.
“It’s so good to see you up and around again!”
he said. “I’ve missed you.”
He nestled his face into my hair and kissed my
neck.
“I’ve missed you, too,” I told him. “You have
no idea how much.”
“You’re feeling better?” he asked me.
“I feel fine,” I responded. “Have you heard
about the Council meeting?”
“Yeah,” he nodded solemnly. “Alexi told us
about it. We’re all set to take you away if the
vote doesn’t go well.”
We sat down at the patio table, and Kai took
my hands in his.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“We don’t know,” he admitted. “Alexi has it
all planned. But he says his father can see the
future, so we’ll have to keep moving and make
only last minute decisions about where we’re
going so they can’t get there before we do. We
will have to stay one step ahead.”
“It seems like you and Max are getting along
really well with Alexi,” I noted.
“We have to,” he said. “He knows how to
protect you.”
“Kai, I’m really sorry I’ve gotten you involved
in all of this. You, Max, Jamie… you have
nothing to do with any of this.”
“There is nowhere else I’d rather be,” he said
gently. “Before I met you, my life was
completely meaningless. You’re the only thing
that makes me whole.”
I smiled weakly.
“I love you,” I told him.
“I love you, too,” he said, leaning over to
plant a gentle kiss on my lips.
A few minutes later, Alexi brought me a tray
full of food, including a sandwich, an apple, a
salad, and a Diet Coke.
“Roast beef,” I mumbled. “It’s my favorite.”
“I know,” Alexi said. “I’ve known you your
whole life, remember?”
“Oh, yeah,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I keep
forgetting you’ve been stalking me through your
dad for years.”
He laughed.
“Well, I wouldn’t put it that way,” he
chuckled. “Eat. You need your strength.”
I took a bite of the sandwich. It was just like I
liked it. The bread was soft white bread, the roast
beef was thick and juicy, and there was just a hint
of mustard for flavor.
“Good? Alexi asked.
“Yes, thank you,” I told him, and he smiled.
“I will leave you two alone,” he said, bowing
to me and backing toward the door.
“I don’t like him,” Kai muttered.
“Why not?” I asked.
“He thinks you two are destined to be
together,” he grumbled. “I’ve got news for him.
I’m not letting you go.”
I smiled.
“I wouldn’t expect you to.”
*****
Chapter Ten – Sacrifice
Liam called Alexi early the next morning to
let him know the Council meeting would be held
at noon. None of us slept much. My mother and
Jamie had taken a nap around midnight, but they
were up before dawn, and Kai, Max, Alexi, and
Will had all spent the night strategizing in the
dining room.
Our bags were packed and ready in Alexi’s
huge black Guardian – an SUV designed to be
bulletproof and extraordinarily fast. I paced back
and forth, chewing my fingernails. I’d picked up
the habi
t of biting my fingernails from Jamie, and
oddly enough, she’d stopped doing it recently.
This was all so frustrating. Everyone I loved
was in danger, and it was all because of me.
Somehow, my actions had led up to this
calamitous chain of events – events that
threatened the lives of everyone I cared about. I
couldn’t keep putting them in danger.
What could I do? How could I possibly
remove myself from this equation and make sure
no one I cared about got hurt? If the Council
voted to kill me, everyone I loved was prepared
to risk their lives to save me. I couldn’t allow
that to happen. Not anymore.
The more I thought about it, the more I
realized there was only one option. While
everyone was discussing strategy, I quietly
slipped out of the dining room. I took one last
longing look back at everyone, and I headed
upstairs to Alexi’s room.
It wasn’t difficult to locate what I was looking
for. Alexi’s cell phone was resting on the table
beside the bed. I noticed he’d left it there after
Liam called that morning. For weeks, I had been
sleeping in Alexi’s big, soft bed while he slept
uncomfortably in a chair in the corner, guarding
over me. I woke up when Liam called, and I’d
noticed him place the phone on the table.
With shaky hands, I fiddled with the phone. I
found Liam’s number and dialed it.
“Alexi?” Liam answered.
“No, it’s Alice,” I said.
“Alice? What it is? Is something wrong?”
Liam asked.
“Sort of,” I explained. “I want you to come get
me.”
“What? Why?”
“I want to turn myself over to the Council.”
I was met with an awkward silence.
“Liam?” I asked.
“Did I hear you right?” he said at last. “You
want to turn yourself over to the Council?
Why?”
“Because I can’t keep putting the people I care
about in danger,” I told him. “Liam, I don’t want
to do that anymore. I’d rather just turn myself
over and be done with it.”
“You’d really sacrifice yourself for them?”
Liam asked.
“Of course,” I said, as if the answer was
obvious.
“Alice, you don’t know what you’re getting
yourself into,” he told me.
“I don’t care,” I responded. “I’ll do whatever it
takes to keep them all safe. Will you come get
me?”
“If that is truly what you wish, I will be there
in about twenty minutes,” Liam said. “Meet me
at the curb.”
“Thank you, Liam,” I said.