Obsidian (Mystic Stones Series #1) (11 page)

I waited for Ava to return, although I knew she wouldn’t. After a few minutes, I went upstairs, just to check. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I opened the door to find an empty room. Empty except for the white envelope resting on the desk and the necklace I’d given her. Her heels lay abandoned on the floor. I went to the bathroom with the thought that maybe I’d catch her, but she was long gone. She had probably made it to Banyan Drive and a cab would have picked her up. Unfortunately, cars couldn’t be tracked and clever Ava wouldn’t risk going home.

No matter. Phase one had failed. One small chance to save it remained, but I’d have to find her first. Of course, it all depended on her true feelings and if she played me or if she genuinely cared.

I went back into the bedroom and walked over to the desk. I picked up the necklace and stared at it for a minute. I should have been more careful. I wondered if she just acted the whole time or if . . . no, surely she couldn’t be such a great actress. Something real existed between us.

I thought I had won her over. My efforts had fallen short, and Ava slipped through my fingers. The bosses wouldn’t be happy, but I would assure them their mission for me wasn’t over and neither was mine. I would have her again and this time she would stay mine.

I put the necklace in my pocket and picked up the envelope. I opened it to find a letter—a Dear John letter. I’d gotten a few of these in my day, but none could be as devastating as this. I unfolded the paper to see Ava’s neat handwriting.

Dear Thomas,

I know that no apology could make this up to you. I wish we met under different circumstances. I just can’t do it. I can’t make the change. Something like this is too big. Living forever sounds so strange to me and I never thought that I would have that chance. But, once you offered it to me, I couldn’t go through with it.

I also can’t be a part of something that will hurt innocent people. I know that you don’t want be a part of it either, deep down you want to be able to say no. I understand why you can’t. I also understand why you wanted me to be a part of your world. You wanted to protect me from what will be done to others. I can’t abandon humanity. I would never be okay with that.

I want you to know that the last few days were very real. Today was especially real for me. I fell in love with you today, Tom. I’ve never fallen in love with anyone. I didn’t want to hurt you, but it was my only option. I hurt myself too. Choosing to leave was the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do and all day the only thing I could think about was how much I will miss you. I will miss you until the end of my days.

Everything I said to you was true. I’ll understand if you are angry with me. I’m angry with myself for being the monster I thought you were. If we cross paths again I’m sure that will be the last day I take a breath on this earth as I predict you will renounce your claim of prospect over me and I will no longer be protected. If you want to kill me yourself I would understand that too. I left the necklace because I didn’t want a reminder of what I’ve done to stay with me.

I love you, Thomas Walker. And, I’m sorry we can’t be together. I hope that you may one day understand why, even if you don’t forgive me. I know that you would’ve made the perfect Vampire Swami and I would have been lucky to have you. My heart breaks as I write this letter. I’ve known all day that today was our last day together while you believed it was the first day of the rest of our lives. It was difficult to endure, knowing that I would break your heart this way. I know that your heart, even though it doesn’t beat, is the kindest heart I’ve ever met.

Goodbye, Tom. I love you and I always will. Don’t forget that.

Ava

I sat on the bed as I read the last sentences. I folded the letter up neatly and tucked it back into the envelope, then stuffed it in my suit jacket pocket and went back downstairs to drink some wine and blood.

I took out my cell phone and pressed call on Henry’s number. He answered without saying a word.

“It didn’t work,” I told him.

“And what is your plan moving forward?” he asked.

“There’s a chance I could save it, but if it falls through, we’ll have to try plan B.”

“That’s a last resort since we don’t know if it would actually work. However, if change under duress doesn’t put her under your control, you know what you’ll have to do, right?”

“Yes.”

“You’re prepared to do that?”

I paused. I wasn’t, but I’d have to lie to him, “Yes.”

“Good. By the way, your former student has been punished for putting the operation in jeopardy.”

“I still don’t know what got into him. I taught him better than that.”

“I suspect it was her blood. You know young vampires. Sometimes they can’t control themselves—especially around blood that smells like that.”

“Yes. I was looking forward to tasting it tonight. It’s quite a disappointment.”

“I agree. I’ve had blood such as hers only once before. A delicacy. Keep me updated. I look forward to seeing if you can salvage this.”

“I will. Goodbye.” I ended the call and sat on the couch.

A slight sadness crept inside me; a feeling I had not known in a long time. I pushed the emotion out of my head and replaced it with determination. She would be mine. One way or another. The stem of the wine glass in my hand snapped. I threw the remaining piece into the cold fireplace and leaned back to get a handle on my emotions.

My cab arrived at Alani’s house after a short drive. I paid the cabby with cash I’d kept in my tennis shoes before quickly going to the front door. It was twelve-thirty, but I had to knock anyway. I had nowhere else to go. After a few seconds, the window illuminated and Alani made it to the door. Relief flooded through me.

“Ava! Oh my gosh!” Alani squealed. She gave me a big hug. “What happened to you? I’ve been trying to find you for days. I went to your house a few times but you weren’t there, and the Herrick-Peyton building is no longer Herrick-Peyton. At least that’s what the guy at the gate said.”

“It’s a long story. Can I come in and explain everything?”

“Of course! Get in here!” Alani pulled the door open wider.

I stepped inside and went to the couch. Alani started boiling water for hot tea and then sat on the couch with me. She was already in her pajamas, which consisted of a bright green tank top and a pair of colorful printed shorts. Alani’s black hair hung just below her chin and flared out a little. She was as thin as I was but had much more tone to her build. She played volleyball at the beach every week. Alani’s dark eyes hinted at curiosity.

“So, where were you?” Alani asked.

“Well, it all starts the day that the satellites went down. I went to dinner with one of my clients, Tom Walker. He’s the head of the Hawaiian branch of Psytech.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember him from when I worked at Herrick-Peyton.”

“The guy at the gate told you the truth, Herrick-Peyton no longer exists. Psytech bought the building. I knew about it before everyone else because Tom told me at dinner. I went on a date with him.”

Alani gasped, “You actually went on a date! I’m so happy for you!”

“Wait ‘til you hear the rest of it, you’ll wish I hadn’t gone on a date. At least not with him. On Wednesday, the owners went to a meeting and that’s when Herrick-Peyton sold the building. Tom told me that I could work any position I wanted at Psytech and to meet him at the warehouse when the news broke.”

“What about everyone else?”

“Psytech had jobs for them too, but everyone was to be accessed and then place in a position that suited them if they wanted the job. But anyway, I went to the warehouse after a staff meeting with the shareholders, and this is where things get really crazy, Alani.”

“Okay, let me get the tea first and then you can finish.” Alani got up and poured the hot tea into two cups. She handed a cup to me then sat down again. She turned her attention to me with curiosity. I hesitated, not knowing how much to tell her.

“You can tell me, Ava. I’ll believe anything you say,” Alani pressed.

I sighed and took a minute to think about how I could tell this part of the story. “Well, I went to the warehouse and there were these corporate men video chatting, Alani. They had a device that made the internet work for them.”

“Wow, why haven’t they released it to the public?”

“Because, Psytech is responsible for the satellite viruses.”

“Oh my gosh! Are you serious?” Alani asked. She set her tea down on the coffee table and brought her legs up to the couch as she turned toward me.

“They asked me to stay and work for them. They wanted me to be like them.”

“What do you mean ‘be’ like them?’“

I took a deep breath and prepared myself to tell the truth. No more secrets. Definitely not secrets I had to keep from Alani. I had to tell her even though she might throw me in the nut house if she didn’t believe me, “They are vampires, Alani. The whole Psytech Corporation.”

“What? Like figuratively speaking?”

“No, I mean they are vampires. Blood-drinking, fang showing, vampires. They planted the virus in the satellite so that they could control humans and make us give them our blood in return for technology.”

“What? You can’t be serious. That’s impossible,” Alani said slowly.

“That’s what I thought, until Tom tried to change me. He came at me with fangs. Fangs, Alani!”

I continued. “I tried to get away. I stabbed him with my pocketknife but it only distracted him. I climbed up a ladder in the warehouse and I found these big crates with the all the shareholders in them. They were alive but at the same time, they weren’t. The vampires kept them as snacks after they signed over the deed to Psytech.”

“This makes no sense. Are you sure you aren’t drunk? How did you get away?”

I ignored her first question. “I didn’t. Tom convinced me to come down. He said he’d wait three days to change me. He wanted me to see things his way. It bought me time, so I agreed. They put this wristband on me that would inject me with vampire venom if I tried to go too far from Tom.”

“I can’t believe you got away,” Alani said. She stood up quickly and started to pace the room. “Nalani told me. She told me there were vampires. I never believed her, but she was right. You’re not making this up, right? She and Hiu didn’t put you up to this?”

“No. It’s real, Alani, and we have to stop them.”

“Okay,” she said as she sat back down. “So keep going. How did you finally get away?”

“I spent Thursday and today with him and his plan was to change me at midnight. I earned his trust, so when he took the wristband off, I made up an excuse to go up to my room and I slipped out the back.”

“And now you’re here. I’m so glad you made it out!” Alani said giving me another hug. Then Alani pulled away and looked at my face. “You seem like something else is bothering you though.”

“Well, in the time that we spent together, I came to . . . understand him.” I took a strand of my hair and started twirling it between my fingers. “We shared a lot about our lives. He told me his story and he treated me like royalty. I think I actually fell in love with him, and leaving him was . . . hard.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat. “Remember the house fire and how we didn’t know how I got out? Tom is the one who saved me.”

“That was him?” Alani asked as she bobbed her head forward in disbelief.

“It has to be true. How else would he know?”

Alani pulled me into another hug. “Only you would fall in love with a vampire. Are you sure it isn’t Stockholm syndrome?”

I forced a little laugh and wiped my tears. “I’m sure. It was real. And his feelings for me were real too. I broke his heart. And mine,” I said.

“It will be okay, Ava. What other choice did you have?”

“We need to get out of here, Alani. We can’t stay in Hawaii. Food is already getting scarce. This is where Psytech’s plan will hit the hardest.”

“Can’t we get the police?”

“I don’t think it’s safe. On Thursday we had to go back to the warehouse and there were a lot of vampires running around, one dressed in a police uniform,” I said as my memory of the warehouse came back to me. Then I remembered what happened with James. I decided not to tell Alani exactly how close I’d come to death. Or undeath.

“What do we do? I don’t want to leave, Ava. This is so crazy.”

“It’s our best chance. What about your brother’s boat? Can it get the four of us to California?” I asked.

“I think so, but it will take four or five days since it’s kinda small. If the wind is on our side it may only take three. It might be hard to navigate through without GPS. Convincing Nalani to leave her home will be the hard part.”

“We might be able to get one of those devices, but if there is any way we can do without, it would be best to stay away from the warehouse and Psytech.”

“We’ll talk to Hiu in the morning. You need some rest.”

“I don’t know if I can sleep. What if he finds me? I’m worried and I don’t want you to get hurt,” I said as I glanced around the room and expected Tom to burst through the door at any moment.