End Game (Vampire Hunter Book 6) (8 page)

When we got back to Lucas’ apartment, Henry was awake. I vowed I wasn’t
going to show any emotion – at least not in front of
everyone
– but I knew the hurt and betrayal I felt at his decision was written all
over my face.

Henry looked away, unable to meet my gaze. The tension was so thick you
could cut the air with a knife.

“I’m glad you’re okay, man,” Nicholas said, trying to lighten the mood.

Henry managed a faint, appreciative smile. “Uh, is there somewhere Aurora
and I can talk? Alone?”

“The bedroom,” Lucas answered. He had calmed down from when Nicholas and
I left; now he just looked tired, resigned.

I led the way to Lucas’ bedroom, vaguely registering how weird it was to
be in there with Henry.

“Look, I don’t want you to hate me,” he started.

“But, Henry,
why
?” I broke in, unable to stop myself.

He sighed and sat down on the edge of Lucas’ bed. “You wouldn’t
understand.”

“Try me,” I said gently, sitting down next to him.

“Remember how I told you my eyesight became perfect after I was bitten by
Bartholomew?” Henry asked.

I nodded.

“Well, I didn’t say anything, but there was other stuff, too. It’s hard
to explain, but for the first time in my life I truly felt
alive
. More
powerful, physically stronger than I’ve ever been – even when I spend
hours every day in the gym.”

“Yeah, so vampires have a lot of strength,” I said quietly. “That seems
like an awfully small reason to do something so drastic. Is that really why you
made this decision?”

“When I saw that the spell needed a newly turned vampire’s blood, I got
the idea in my head that it should be me. It started consuming me to the point
where that’s all I thought about. I debated telling you guys, but I knew
everyone would try and talk me out of it. And besides, the only vampires I knew
were Lucas and Nicholas. Neither of them would have been on board. So when you
took me to meet Jet, the whole thing just seemed perfect. I knew then and there
it was my fate. My destiny.”  

Henry paused. “Say something, Rory,” he said softly. “I’m not used to you
being at a loss for words,” he teased.

“I’m just…sad,” I said honestly. “This is why you made me promise that
nothing would change between us?”

“Yeah. I wanted to tell you myself, I really did. But it would have
jeopardized the plan tonight if I’d said anything beforehand. I didn’t realize
the spell was going to make me pass out. I was going to tell you as soon as we
got out of there. Of course, I knew Nicholas and Lucas would already have
sensed it, but I had every intention of
you
hearing it from me.”

“So Jet really didn’t influence you?” I asked. “I tried to beat him up,”
I said. “I thought he had strong-armed you.”

Henry laughed. “Not at all,” he said. “Quite the opposite, actually. I
thought he would agree in a flash, especially after he practically
offered
to
turn me the first time we met. But he initially shot me down – and pretty
hard. It took some convincing on
my
part, and even then I was worried he
wouldn’t go through with it.”

“What was it like?” I asked, not wanting to picture Jet’s pointy teeth
sinking into Henry’s neck, but not being able to get the image out of my mind
either.

“At first, a warm, comforting feeling came over me, like I could drift
off to sleep. And then, I felt like I woke up, for the first time in my life.
I’m still me…but I’m not. In a good way.”

I gulped. “What about the, uh, cravings?”

“Not as bad as I thought it might have been. I’ll be fine. I’ve only had
synthetic, and apparently the initial months are the toughest. Jet said I can
stay with him, or he’ll get me an apartment. Either way, I know he’ll make sure
I keep in line. He’s my brother now. I finally understand the relationship with
your maker. I would do anything for Jet. I’ll be working with him from now on,
helping him in any way he needs.”

“But what about school?” I blurted out, realizing how ridiculous of a
worry that was.

Henry shrugged. “I’ll finish the year out in home school. You know, when
I saw my father…” Henry’s voice trailed off.

I looked away guiltily. All this time I had known about David Matthews and
kept it from Henry.

“I guess I wasn’t surprised,” he finally said. “It didn’t make sense that
I was a warlock, so powerful, without some type of link in my family. I started
suspecting a few weeks ago that I got my warlock abilities from him, but I didn’t
realize he was working for Leon. I wish you had told me, when you found out.”

“I didn’t know how to tell you. I thought you wouldn’t believe me, and
you’d hate me for even suggesting such a thing. Please don’t be mad at me,” I
whispered.

“As long as you’re not mad at me!” Henry shot back.

I mustered a smile.
Henry forgives me for hiding his father’s secret
while I forgive him for becoming a vampire.
It was the last thing in the
world I thought could ever happen.

“Emmett and Lucas – and even my father – told me everything
after I woke up,” Henry continued. “I guess I can understand, in a way, why you
guys kept it from me. I don’t think I would have believed it anyway. And
honestly, it makes it easier to accept, now that I’m a vampire. I’ll always care
for my parents, but Jet is my real family now.”

Truthfully, I wasn’t entirely sure why I was so upset. Henry seemed
completely secure,
pleased
, with his decision. And he had readily
forgiven me for keeping his father’s true identity a secret. So why did I feel
like the rug had been ripped out from underneath me? I think, somewhere deep in
my mind, the fact that Henry was human had meant I could never be with him.
Sure, it might have worked for a few years, but in the long run? No way. Henry
would have grown old while I stayed the same. We’d have to hide as soon as the
age difference became apparent; people would either think Henry was my father
or a pedophile or a sugar daddy.

But now, he was immortal. The playing field had been leveled. I had to
make a decision between Henry and Lucas, and there would be no other reason
except the feelings I had in my un-beating heart. I wouldn’t be able to play
the mortal vs. immortal card.

If that’s even what Henry wants anymore,
I reminded myself. No
matter what he said, everything had changed. Permanently. Irreversibly.

When we got back out into the main room, everyone turned to look at us. I
forced a smile. “At least Tobias is dead and Magnus is in Hell,” I said. “And
Leon’s in Hell, too?” I asked, turning to Mr. Matthews. I hoped Nicholas’ hunch
about him warning Leon was wrong.

“Well, about that…” David hedged.

“He already told us,” Lucas said, “when you went to Jet’s house. Leon’s
on the surface now.”

“Great,” I said angrily. “So now what?”

“I’ll find out his whereabouts so you can kill him,” David said calmly.

“And why would I trust
you
, after everything you’ve done?” I
demanded. “You’d probably double cross me and try to let Leon kill
me
instead.”

“Well, you’re going to have to trust me,” David snapped. “What other
choice do you have? And besides, I can understand your hesitation, but now that
I know my son is involved, I wouldn’t do anything to hurt
any
of you,”
he said, looking around the room. I noticed that Henry wouldn’t meet his gaze.

I turned to Emmett. “Can
you
tell us where Leon is?” I asked,
still not ready to trust Mr. Matthews.

“Maybe,” he said slowly. “But I think you need to listen to David. The
bigger problem is you figuring out your power to actually
kill
a demon.”

“No psychic thoughts on that?” I asked morosely.

“At this point, I think it’s down to you,” Emmett replied. “But you
killed Tobias – don’t sell yourself short.”

“Did you know…about Henry’s decision? Before you got here and were told?”
I couldn’t help asking.

“Um.” Emmett looked away, his face turning a crimson color.

“You knew,” I said incredulously. “And you didn’t bother to tell me!”

“I knew it was a
possibility
,” Emmett corrected me. “If I had felt
like it would put any of us in danger, I’d have mentioned it. But it wasn’t my
secret to tell. Or your decision to make,” he added.

I didn’t answer.

Emmett stood up. “I’m glad I could come over and get the details of
everything that happened, but I’m afraid I have to leave now.”

“We should go home, too,” David said, looking at Henry.

“I’m not going home,” Henry replied.

“Henry, be reasonable,” David pleaded.

“I’m going to Jet’s,” he said firmly. “You can contact me there if you
need to. Frankly, you’re pretty damn lucky I’m even willing to have
anything
to do with you, after what you’ve done.”

“How can I make up for it?” he whispered.

Henry laughed tersely. “That’s just the thing, Dad. You can’t.”

Henry walked to the door. “Do you want a ride home now, Aurora?”

“Okay,” I agreed.

“What a strange evening,” Henry commented when we got in the car.

“I’m still in shock over it all,” I said. “But, thank you for doing the
spell. You know I can never repay you for everything you’ve done for me.”

“I never asked you to,” Henry reminded me.

“Henry?” I said tentatively.

He glanced away from the road momentarily. “Yeah?”

“You’ll be working for Jet…but you won’t do anything
bad
,
will
you?” I blurted out.

Henry laughed. “Of course not. Becoming a vampire didn’t change my
morals.” He paused. “Jet’s not evil. You have to admit, you liked him, too.
Yeah, he plays a political game, and he wants power, but he’s not out killing
or hurting innocent people.”

“You know I can’t do what he asked,” I said quietly. “Go around,
recruiting people for him to turn.”

“I figured as much. And I suspect Jet knows you’re going to refuse his
offer. It was a long shot, anyway. But, you gotta do what you gotta do,” Henry
said lightly.

“What’s that mean?” We were at my house now. Henry pulled up to the curb
and turned the car off.

“You acted surprised that I would choose not to go back to school after
all of this. But what about you? Don’t you think that hunting is
your
destiny?
You didn’t get this amazing ability to kill demons so you can go to college and
work in an office.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought. “True,” I conceded. “I guess I
haven’t let myself think too much about it. As terrifying as the shit we’ve
been going through is, the future is almost worse.”

“I know what you mean,” Henry agreed.

Impulsively, I reached out and placed my hand on Henry’s knee. “You know
how much I care about you, right?”

Henry leaned forward and cupped my face in his hands, his soft lips
connecting with mine. The kiss was sweet, sad almost. He pulled away but kept his
hands around my face, leaning his forehead forward to touch mine.

“As nice as that was,” Henry said, “we both know.”

I knew what he meant: we both knew we couldn’t be together.

“Yeah,” I whispered. “But you have to understand…my feelings for you were
real.
Are
real.”

“Same here.” Henry pulled back, leaning his head against the back of his
seat and closing his eyes.

“How did you know we couldn’t be together?” I asked finally. “When did
you realize?”

“When I decided I was going to be a vampire and not tell you about it,”
he replied. “And then, to discover what my dad was up to, and you’d been
keeping that from me…” His voice trailed off and he turned to look at me, his
eyes more piercing than usual. “Do you really think soul mates keep those kind
of secrets from each other? We were both hiding things. Big things.”

I shook my head. He was right. Recently, our friendship had been muddled
with secrets and lies.

Besides,” he continued, turning away, “I see how you look at him. You may
have feelings for me, but you’ve got them for Lucas, too. And I won’t – I
can’t
– sit around any longer, wondering who you’re going to pick.
I think you’ve already made up your mind, anyway, even if you haven’t admitted
it to yourself.”

I didn’t answer. Initially I had been too confused to know what I wanted,
but Henry was right. Lately, I had started to realize the bond I shared with
Lucas was different than the one with Henry. Henry would always have a place in
my heart, but only as a friend.

“This isn’t goodbye though, right?” I whispered.

“Of course not, Rory,” Henry said with a sad smile. “Our lives are going
down different paths, but I’m sure they’ll cross again. After all, we’re both
immortal now. And believe me, I intend to do everything possible to help you
take out Leon and Senara. I will
never
abandon you; that I promise.”

I leaned forward and hugged Henry, clutching my hands around the back of
his neck, scared to let go.
But you have to let go.

“Talk to you soon?” I asked as I got out of the car.

“Definitely. But don’t expect me to come out in the daylight,” he said,
only half-joking. “I don’t think I can handle those sunlight pills yet.”

“Deal,” I said with a smile. I got out of the car and trekked up to my
house, feeling like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders.

Sunday morning, bright and early, Emmett called me.

“Have you had a premonition?” I asked as I picked up the phone.

“I guess you could call it that,” Emmett replied, his voice tense. “I had
this dream that you were fighting Senara. I’ve never had my visions in a dream
before, so I wasn’t sure if it was real. What does she look like? Red hair, red
lipstick, young? Maybe early twenties?”

“Uh, that sounds like her,” I said, wishing I could forget her irritating
face forever.

“It was hazy,” Emmett said. “I saw her, then I saw you, and then I woke
up.”

“But you said we were fighting?” I asked.

“It was in a house – there were things on the ground, broken,”
Emmett explained. “I guess I just inferred the fight part.”

“But do you know where the house is?” I asked.

“Not until I woke up,” Emmett said excitedly. “The address popped into my
head: 4400 Elm Street.”

“I think that’s about twenty minutes or so from here,” I said.

“Right. Seems all the supernatural creatures are convening in the same
vicinity, near the Gates, near Tobias. Senara – and the others, for that
matter – probably don’t yet know he’s dead.” Emmett paused. “I think you
should tell Lucas and go over there, try to catch her off guard. Maybe you can
kill her, too. But if for some reason you can’t, then you and Lucas get the
hell out of there,” he said grimly.

“Maybe.” But my voice was filled with doubt. Senara had pushed me into
that bookshelf with hardly any effort. My power was sketchy, at best. What if
it didn’t activate? Maybe Senara couldn’t kill me, but she could most likely
inflict pain in other ways. And, as she had so readily pointed out, she
could
kill Lucas.

“Look, Aurora,” Emmett said. “This is the best lead I’ve had in weeks. I
don’t want to put you in danger, of course, but she’s going to have to be dealt
with, and if you can surprise her, all the better.”

“Okay,” I said, still feeling skeptical. I promised Emmett I’d contact
Lucas and we’d let him know as soon as we had news.

When we got off the phone, I started to call Lucas, but then hesitated.
He’d
have to take a sunlight pill.
But that wasn’t the real issue. I couldn’t
put Lucas in danger.
And you don’t want him seeing his old girlfriend,
a
nagging voice said. I could try and deny it all I wanted, but it was true. The
thought of Senara and Lucas together still made me want to smash up everything
in sight.

No, I’d have to go it alone. I pulled up the map on my phone. Just as I’d
thought, Elm Street was near downtown, about twenty minutes away.
Thirty by
bus,
I thought, resigning myself to the fact that the bus would have to be
my mode of transportation. Even though I could drive, I had no license, and my
parents would kill me if they caught me driving one of their cars again.

My parents were still asleep, so I texted my mom’s phone to let her know
that I was spending the day with Lucas. He seemed as good an alibi as any, and
if Mom called him because I didn’t come home, I knew he’d cover for me…and come
and find me. I gulped.
It won’t come to that.

On the bus ride to Senara’s, I tried to devise a plan. But how could I
plan when I had no idea what to expect? What was I going to do? Sneak in, hit
her over the head with something, try to knock her out? And then kill her? It
just seemed so ludicrous.

Maybe I’ll just check things out today,
I thought. That sounded
like a better idea. She’d probably be in that house for at least a few more
days. What did they call it when you snooped around someone’s house? I thought
back to all those crime shows I used to watch, when I was holed up in Henry’s
house over the summer. Casing the joint. That was it.

The nearest bus stop was several blocks from the address Emmett had given
me. I looked around nervously as I slowly walked towards 4400 Elm Street. I didn’t
want Senara to see me, and briefly considered trying to disguise myself, but
she didn’t remind me of the type who would be sitting at the window, waiting
for an intruder. Senara was confident and powerful, always felt she had the
upper hand.
But not this time.
I had an ace up my sleeve; Tobias had
proven that I couldn’t be killed.

When I got to the address, I saw that it was an apartment complex, not a
house.
Emmett specifically said house,
I thought, a feeling of dread
washing over me. I didn’t like that he was wrong about that. It wasn’t an
important detail, but what if he was wrong about other stuff, too? Details that
were
important.
Like my ability to kill the bitch.

It was a high-rise apartment complex, like the one Lucas lived in. There
was only one way to find out which unit Senara was renting. I didn’t want to
draw attention to myself, alert her that I knew where to find her, but there
was no choice. It was a risk I would have to take.

I headed to the leasing office. A guy was sitting behind the desk. He
didn’t look much older than me, and he had dark brown hair with spiky red tips.

“Hi,” I said, “I’m looking for someone who lives here.”

The guy looked up from his phone. “I can’t give out the addresses of the
tenants, but if you tell me who you’re looking for I’ll make sure I get a
message to ‘em.”

Crap.
“Um, it’s really important,” I said, trying to give him an
endearing smile.

He shrugged. “Sorry, no can do. I can deliver a message for you, but
that’s all I got to offer.”

“Come on…Bob,” I said, reading the nameplate sitting on the desk.

The guy laughed. “Do I really look like a Bob to you? Nah, Bob’s my dad.
He owns the place. I’m Mark. What’s your name?”

“Annabelle,” I replied, using the first name that popped into my head.

“So who are you looking for, Annabelle? Boyfriend?” Mark leaned back and
smiled.

Is he flirting with me?
I was a terrible flirt, but decided to try
and play along. “Oh, Mark,” I said, “don’t be silly. I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m
just looking for my sister, you see. She’s been…estranged from the family. I
heard she’s back, living here. She’s probably not using her real name,” I added
quickly. “It would be best if I could describe her.”

“Sure,” Mark said, “and then I can get her a message.”

I shook my head. “I need to surprise her,” I explained. “Otherwise she
might bolt again. I’m not quite sure she wants to be found yet.”

“Weird,” Mark muttered, looking confused. But he didn’t question it any
further. “Sorry,” he said. “I wish I could help you…”

“Pretty please?” I asked, batting my eyelashes, wondering if I looked as
stupid as Bunny when she was flirting. “Isn’t there
anything
that would
change your mind, allow you to bend the rules
just this once
?”

“Well,” Mark said. He looked around nervously. “Okay, if you describe
your sister, I’ll help you out. But only if you agree to go on a date with me.”

“Um,” I said, “I don’t know.”

“Why? You just told me you didn’t have a boyfriend. Let me take you out.
You might even have fun,” he said teasingly. “How old are you? I’m 19.”

“I’m 17,” I replied, trying to think of an excuse.

“See? Perfect.” Mark grinned.

“Okay, sure, why not,” I said. “I’ll give you my phone number.”

I gave Mark a fake number, which he punched into his phone. Thank God he
didn’t try to call it to make sure I hadn’t lied.
He’ll find that out later.

“My sister’s got bright red hair, thin, uh, curvaceous,” I said, not
knowing how else to describe Senara. “She’s five years older than me.”

“I know who you mean!” Mark said. “Samantha Wallace.”

“Great!” I replied enthusiastically. “What her apartment number?”

“She’s in 802,” Mark answered.

“Thanks so much, Mark,” I said.

“You may have to come back, though,” Mark told me. “She’s not home. She
was leaving right when I got here for my shift.”

What’s she up to now?

I feigned disappointment. “Yeah, I guess I’ll try back later.” But, in
truth, this was the best possible scenario for me to check things out –
if
I could get into the apartment. Now I almost wished I
had
brought Lucas.
He had that key that could open any lock. What was I going to do? Break the
door down?

“Sundays are usually quiet,” Mark was saying. “You could hang out for
awhile, see if your sister returns. There’s a TV in the back office. We could
watch something.”

“Don’t you have to stay out here?” I asked nervously. I didn’t want to
lead Mark on, but there were
certain
to be extra keys for all the units
in the office.

“Nah, like I said, Sundays are slow. Besides, if anyone comes along they
can ring the bell,” Mark replied, pointing to the bell on the counter.

“Okay,” I said, even though I knew it wasn’t a stellar idea.

“Great!” Mark hopped up from the desk and motioned for me to follow him.
We walked through a door behind the desk, into the office. He shut the door
behind us. There were two folding chairs next to the desk. Behind the desk,
hanging on a board on the wall, were tons and tons of keys, each with room
numbers underneath them. I looked away, not wanting Mark to pick up on the real
reason I had agreed to ‘hang out’ with him.

“So tell me about yourself, Annabelle.” Mark sat down in one of the
chairs and I sat next to him.

“Oh, nothing to tell, really,” I said, trying to be vague. “I’m a senior.
What about you?” I asked quickly. Maybe if I could get him talking about
himself he would forget to ask me anything personal.

I barely listened as Mark told me how he graduated two years ago and had
been working for his dad since then. His father was planning to buy another
complex, and Mark would be the full time manager there.

“Uh-huh, that’s really cool,” I said, trying to sound interested.

Mark paused. “I’m boring you, aren’t I?”

“What? No, of course not!” I protested.

“I see how you’re looking at me,” Mark said. “And I just want you to
know, I feel the same way.”

Huh?
Before I knew what was happening, Mark leaned forward and
kissed me. My initial reaction was to pull back, but I stopped myself.
You’ve
got to get that key!

So instead I responded to his kiss. Even though there was only one person
I really wanted to lock lips with, the kiss wasn’t bad. Mark was cute, and his
lips were soft. After a moment I pulled away and laughed nervously.

“That was nice,” I said.

“Yeah, it was.” Mark smiled shyly.

But it will never happen again.
I felt guilty for leading him on,
for kissing someone other than Lucas, for mildly
enjoying
it. But what
other option did I have?

Mark started to lean in to kiss me again, but I held up my hand. “Could I
have a glass of water?” I asked.

“Okay,” Mark said reluctantly. “There’s a water cooler out front. I’ll go
get you a cup.”

As soon as he had left, I jumped to my feet and rushed to the board,
scanning frantically for the key to room 802. I plucked it off the wall and
stuffed it in my pocket just as he got back.

I turned around and took the water from him. “Thanks so much, Mark,” I
gushed. “But my mom just called. I have to get home, pronto!”

Mark’s face fell. “That sucks,” he said.

“Yes, totally,” I agreed.

“I’ll call you tonight,” Mark said. “Maybe we can go out Friday, if you’re
free?”

“Sure,” I said, feeling guilty again. But Mark would figure it out when
he called the number and it wasn’t Annabelle’s. And I’d never have to see him
again. And even though I’d vowed not to keep anything from Lucas, I wouldn’t
tell him about that kiss, either. It wasn’t technically cheating since we
hadn’t defined our relationship, but he wouldn’t understand.
And what he
doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

The elevators were adjacent to the leasing office, but I had seen a metal
staircase on the outside of the building.
Probably the fire exit.
I’d
have to take that, so Mark wouldn’t know I hadn’t really left.

When I got to the first landing, I tried the door, just to make sure it
wasn’t locked. It turned in my hand.
Good.
It would truly have sucked to
come this far only to find out the damn doors to the fire exit were locked from
the outside. I continued up to the eighth floor and opened the door, quietly
shutting it behind me as I stepped into a hallway. I was in front of apartment
815, and it looked like the lower numbered units were at the end of the hall.

When I got to 802, I hesitated for a moment, looking around to make sure
the coast was clear. There was no one around. I slipped the key in the lock,
opened it and stepped inside the apartment in one quick motion. I hoped Mark
was right about Senara being out.

I stood frozen, listening for any type of noise. There was nothing.
Fairly confident that no one was home, I allowed myself to look around. The
only piece of furniture in the room was a chair. Quietly, I crept to the back
part of the apartment. Just like the main room, the bedroom was practically
bare as well. A small bed was pushed into a corner, with nothing else in the
room. Senara wasn’t planning on staying here for any length of time, that was
for sure.

Not really sure what else I was supposed to be doing, I sat down on the
bed, trying to will myself to think. I knew where Senara lived now, and I had a
way in. So what? What had this really accomplished? There wasn’t even anything
interesting to snoop through!

I stood up to leave just as I heard a key in the door.
Fuck!
I
looked around frantically, trying to decide where I could hide. There weren’t
many options, and the door would be swinging open any second now. I had to make
a decision. I darted back into the bedroom and pressed myself against the wall
by the door.