Malevolence - Legacy Series Book Two (The Legacy Series) (13 page)

           
“He is a moody fellow, don’t you think?”
 
Arien said with a smirk.
 
“I guess that’s my queue to go.
 
No need for thanks.
 
I hope to see you soon.
 
Sweet dreams.”
 
He was gone in a blink of an eye.

           
I didn’t expect to see Arien in Paris, but secretly I was glad he was there.
 
I wasn’t sure how we would have fought
Gunna
and I didn’t want to choose between my own mother and Abel.
 
Arien always came across as an ass but he still had a bit of good in him.

Chapter 16.
 
Relationship

“Said the king, see if you can catch it alive, and then fasten it to the carriage, and we will take it with us.” ~ Grimm’s Household Tales

ABEL

           
The condo was exactly what you’d imagine in Paris.
 
Everything was off-white and
goldish
.
 
Chandeliers hung in every room with crystals that bounced prisms of light onto the walls.
 
Oakley and Pru were lounging on the big oversized chair and Gus was sitting on the ottoman telling him a story about their trip to the Vampire Museum.
 
Dolly called to us from the kitchen, telling us to take a seat at the dining table.

           
Dolly carried in a silver tray full of croissants drizzled in honey and a kettle full of hot water for tea, if we wished.
 
I picked a random tea bag and poured my hot water over it; letting the tea steep before stealing a croissant to eat.

           
“Okay guys, I think we need to make a plan if we intend on leaving France in one piece.
 
I talked to a couple of alphas earlier and we tried to make heads or tails about Pascale.”
 
Dolly sat down at the head of the table and poured hot water over her tea bag as she turned her gaze to Pru.
 
“Pru, I want you and Gus to locate that witch you met, her name was
Zanly
?”

           
“Zany,” Pru corrected.

           
“Zany, that’s right.
 
I want to meet up with her and find out what she knows about any rogue wolves in the area.
 
I know she is in thick with Pascale and it is possible he is behind Ernie’s death but I think something bigger is going on.”
 
She dunked her tea bag up and down before taking it out of the cup.
 
The chef had scolded her for not using tea leaves but she told him we wouldn’t use them.
 
She was probably right.
 
“Abel and Oakley, I want you to call the Vampire museum and make an appointment for all of us to go over there.
 
I think if we follow their rules, that lady may be more hospitable.
 
I’m going to work with IT and see if we can figure out what the earth faerie was talking about.”
 

           
“I agree,” I said.
 
“I want to find Allie as soon as possible.
 
Pru was telling me she thinks that the book in the museum may have an old passage in it that might be the antidote to the Human
Vampiric
Virus.”
 
Why everyone looked defeated was beyond me. “I know it’s a long shot, but I have to know.”
 
Everyone took a sip of their tea at the same time, doing their best not to look my way.
 
“Onto another subject.
 
Gus, I hear you’re the gold medalist in some strongman competitions and one for knife throwing, is that so?”

           
“Would you like a lesson in throwing items, like stakes?”
 
Gus said with a smirk on his face.

           
“I think we could all use a lesson.
 
I grabbed some sticks from the forest and threw them in the trunk of the car, I’ll go sharpen them,” I said as I stood up to go out to the limo.

           
“Wait Abel, I put those sticks on the porch so you don’t have to go all the way to the car.
 
You and I are like one brain,” Pru said as she pointed back and forth between us.

           
Everyone laughed letting out a little tension that had built up in the room from all of the vampire talk.

           
Gus and I removed the backing off one of the entertainment centers in the guest room.
 
We drew a giant target in the center of the board for us to practice our aim.
 
Gus whittled the sticks into perfect wooden stakes; they were thin but thick enough for strength and perfectly sharpened to penetrate the flesh with the right amount of force.
 

           
All of us gathered in the outside common area with our stake in our hand.
 
Gus showed us how to hold the piece of wood for the perfect throw.

           
“Everyone open up your dominant hand with your palm up,” Gus said as he looked around. “Perfect.
 
Now, I want you to put the stake in your palm, the stakes pointed end going the length of your middle finger.
 
Make sure the center is where your second joint of your finger is,” he said.

           
“Yes sensei.” I said and bowed, earning a few chuckles.

           
Gus obviously didn’t find me nearly as funny as I do; he is all business. We all watched as he took the stake and flung it at the target hitting straight in the middle.

           
“Did you notice I held my hand out straight with my thumb holding it in place?” he asked.
 
“Turn your hand over, you’ll notice your hand is arched a little as your thumb holds the stake.
 
Pull your arm back and as you release the stake, flick your wrist and throw with precision.”
 
He turned to face me, “Abel, you’re left handed so it will be a little different for you.”

           
“I’m good.
 
The whole world is right handed; I’ve adjusted to fit in,” I said as I pulled my arm back and threw the stake at the bull’s-eye.

           
In unison everyone gasped.
 
I shined my fingernails on my shoulder. “What?” I asked.

           
“Nice job,” Gus said.
 
“I want everyone to pair up.
 
One of you will be the attacker; the other will be the victim.”
 
He pointed at Dolly and Oakley, “I want you two to pair up.
 
Oakley, you’ll be the attacker.”
 

           
We all gathered around Oakley and Dolly as they stood in the middle of the garden face to face.

           
“Are you sure you don’t want Dolly with Abel?”
 
Pru asked.

           
“I’m sure.
 
Now I want you to pretend that you are being attacked and over your shoulder a vampire is approaching.
 
As you are being attacked, I want you to throw a stake at the vampire.”
 
Gus said and picked up the target board. “I’m going to hold the board; so please make sure to hit the target,” he said as he laughed it off.

           
We spent the next hour swapping partners and staking the target.
 
We had shed our jackets as we worked up a sweat.
 
It was a good workout and fun to be training again.
 

           
I saw the light on my phone flashing; which was odd since we didn’t have a very good signal in Paris. I picked up the phone and felt my heart skip a beat as I read it.

           
“Y R U N Paris? AC” the text read.
 
The phone number didn’t register on the display but I had no doubt who the text was from.
 
My nickname for Allie was Alley-Cat… AC.
 
I went inside the house to log on to my mobile account and verify the number the text came from.

           
I called our IT department back home to find out if they knew any secrets to hack the number but they didn’t.
 
I had almost given up when I got another text.

           
“Go 4 a walk ALONE. Walk 3
blks
E
trn
S 2
blks
AC” I stared at the screen making sure I wasn’t seeing things.
 
I grabbed my jacket, zipping it up and headed for the front door, I turned around and went back into the room.
 
I grabbed the stake and put it in my waistband pulling my jacket over the top.
 
I made it all the way to the door when I hear Pru bouncing up behind me.

           
Her long red hair was pulled up in a ponytail high on her head.
 
Her grey eyes could see through me but I needed her to let me go alone.
 

           
“Hey Abe, where are you going?” Pru asked tilting her head to the side in that adorable way she had.

           
“I want to get some fresh air and clear my head,” I replied.

           
She eyeballed me up and down but didn’t try to stop me.
 
I pulled on one of Oakley’s old man hats to keep my head warm.

           
I reminded myself over and over that Allie was still my sister and to try not to kill her. I heard about the way she acted at the party, but I wasn’t sold on the idea she wasn’t putting on an act.
 
She and I had been through so much together; I couldn’t imagine her forgetting everything.
 
I checked behind me a few times to make sure I wasn’t being followed.
 
Pru has a distinct hitch in her gait; I thought she stepped harder onto her right foot making a louder sound.
 
Even when she was pussy-footing around she had the slightest sound in her steps.
 
I passed a worn out looking woman, obviously coming home from work.
 
Her shoulders were slumped forward making her look older than I thought she really was.
 

           
Paranoia was setting in, making me feel a little twitchy.
 
A man was smoking a cigarette on a balcony huddled up like a drug user hiding his secret vice. The sound of the Metro in the distance reminded me that big cities used public transportation.
 
The way people drove in the area and the traffic jams alone would push me to use the Metro.
 
The smell of coffee and baked goods hit me like a brick wall as I turned the first corner.
  
My stomach rumbled a little. I hadn’t noticed the little café when we drove back from the forest.
 
Come to think of it, nothing here looked familiar.
 
I sniffed the air as discretely as possible to pick up a familiar scent but the cold air hurt to take deep breaths of.
 
The street became more and more void of life as I walked to meet Allie.
 

           
The memory of Allie sitting in my room, her veins freshly full of HVV, and her words cutting me to the bone entered my mind.
 
I remembered too clearly.
 
I closed my eyes for a second, letting the memory seep in.
 
It was like living it all over again….watching her jump out of my bedroom window of our two-story house in Piedsville Oklahoma.
 
She repeated over and over that I was a marked man and that soon her humanity would be gone.
 
Her words were so vial and hate filled that it was like being stabbed in the heart over and over by someone you loved.
 
Whoever came up with the saying about sticks and stones were completely wrong about words; they always hurt when spoken out of anger.
 
I shook my head to clear it for this meeting.
 
I didn’t want to kill my sister but I’d do what I had to do to protect my pack.