Obsidian (Mystic Stones Series #1) (16 page)

The conversation turned to lighter subjects, and everyone became more comfortable with each other. Perry wouldn’t be a problem.

Nalani was the first to leave the conversation for bed. I would follow soon. I forced myself to talk and it was getting tiresome. I tried to present the façade that I was okay, but my week couldn’t have gone worse.

I went on a date with a vampire, who took me captive and made me fall in love with him. Then I left him and left me. Then there was the fact that I had killed a man less than six hours ago. As if I didn’t have enough to worry about, I had to add a splash of guilt to my soul. I tried convincing myself that he was no better than an evil vampire, but the fact that he was still human made my gut lurch.

I excused myself, but didn’t want to go to bed just yet. I needed to get my mind off of things first. Latoria told us to explore the house, except for the doors with names on them. The house had a large courtyard behind it with flowers and plants everywhere and a small pond with fish. It reminded me a little of Hilo so I decided to explore it. Winding pathways led to a gazebo. Tall hedges made it seem like a maze. I walked around smelling the wonderful aroma of the plants and flowers. The calm and beautiful night showcased the stars full moon.

As I walked, I came upon a statue of a man, who stood plainly, facing west. He was dressed in modern clothes and was not in a pose. He just stood there. The statue resembled Jesse Sutton, the owner of the house, in some ways.

If it was a statue of himself, that may explain why he seemed disinterested in the events of the past days. Perhaps he was just a rich narcissist. I worked with many men like him in the past. Egotistical, arrogant, and stubborn. I suspected I wouldn’t get along with him. Of course, I’d be polite. We had just taken over his house and doubled the occupancy. I was never the kind of person to be rude.

I walked around a little more before bedtime snuck up on me and went inside to find my room. It was even nicer than the one on the boat. Again, I had my own bathroom, furnished with all the best amenities. I ran a bath to help me relax. I found some bubble bath and scented bath salt and added them to the warm water. Thoughts of my own home teemed in my head. I missed my house and my bed, and most of all, I missed feeling close to my parents.

In the morning, I woke feeling rested. I looked out my window. The bright and beautiful day contrasted my current outlook on life. The view overlooked the courtyard, where birds and bugs flew. Then I noticed something odd. The statue of Jesse was missing. I thought back to the night before, wondering if I had imagined the statue. I may be going crazy, but rationalized it may be hidden from view or possibly that it wasn’t in the place I thought. The courtyard was practically a maze, so I couldn’t be sure.

I dressed for the day then went downstairs to the dining room. The main tables overflowed with fresh fruit, muffins, toast and bagels, along with orange juice, coffee, and milk. I helped myself. It seemed I was one of the first to wake up. Kassidy and Edison were the only others in the dining room. We said good morning to each other. There was still a new acquaintance feel between us.

I sat in one of the chairs across from the couple. Jesse came in soon after. He spotted me right away and brandished a debonair smile. I smiled back but mentally rolled my eyes. He was probably just being polite.

Unexpectedly, he sat directly next to me instead of taking the head of the table as I assumed he would. He looked at me with his piercing gaze again.

“Good morning,” he said while maintaining eye contact. “I’m Jesse Sutton. I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk last night. I wake up rather early so I’m forced to retire earlier than I would like.”

“It’s okay, I understand,” I replied. Then I took a bite out of my bagel.

“Good, I don’t want you or your friends to think I’m rude. I was a little distracted and I’m simply reserved when meeting a group of people. I prefer to meet new people one on one,” Jesse explained.

“Yes, I agree. It’s uncomfortable when there are so many new people to meet at once. You never know what they’re thinking or how they will react to what you say. Talking one on one is easier because you only have to gauge one person’s reactions,” I said.

For the first time an emotion swept Jesse’s face, he smiled and said, “Exactly.”

Then he turned to Kassidy and Edison and asked them what they had planned for the day. They replied saying they were going with Perry and Hiu to find some obsidian, and as if on cue, Hiu and Perry, who seemed quite friendly for a vampire and a marked “slayer,” came into the dining room. Hiu greeted me in his Hawaiian language, and stuffed some food into his arms before his expedition. Perry went for some chocolate and wine; a classic vampire breakfast. Soon the four of them headed out, and I was left alone with Jesse. I wondered what happened to Alani, Nalani, Moana and Latoria, but didn’t ask.

I glanced at Jesse who quietly ate next to me. I was sure he could see me out of the corner of his eye. The uncomfortable silence formed a cloud above us. I didn’t know what to say to him and wasn’t sure if I should bring up the statue mystery because I could just be crazy or blind, one of the two.

I finished my food and was about to leave the table when Jesse spoke up.

“So, you are the one who saved the other’s lives with your quick thinking?” Jesse asked.

I resettled in my seat before answering, “Yes, I suppose I did. But killing another human being is not something I’ll soon be able to forgive myself for.”

“You gave him a chance. He chose the side of evil, Ava. You must not hate yourself for protecting those you love from evil.”

I was surprised he even cared. “You might be right, but I still feel guilty. I wish I would have just wounded him or something. Maybe that would have opened his eyes.”

“He was a drudge. He would be killed anyway if he had decided to try to get out of that crowd. The vampires don’t like humans knowing their secrets, but you’ve experienced that first-hand.”

“Yes, I do now. Two weeks ago I didn’t know they existed. Now I’m all too familiar with them and I’m caught in the middle of this big mess. Sometimes I wish I could be one of the people still oblivious to the vampires and their plans of world domination. I want to be one of the people thinking the satellite problems are the only major issue in the world at the moment,” I explained.

“If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be aware of the situation. Now that I think about it, it does make sense they would be the ones behind the virus. I should have made the connection right away, but I’ve been preoccupied with other ventures. Those will have to be put on hold until we find out how to stop the vampires.”

“Life won’t return to normal until we get this cleared up. But what are we going to do?” I asked. I’d been wrong about Jesse not caring about the situation. He might actually be able to help.

“Well, you were with that one for three days, did you hear anything or see anything that may be of some use?” he prodded.

“I don’t know. I’m still kinda processing it all,” I said. I left out that Tom seemed to be the only thing on my mind lately.

“Well, if you’d like to tell me about those days it’s possible my perspective can help you sift through it all. If you are comfortable with that, I mean.”

“Actually, I think it might help. Where should I start?”

“Wherever you are comfortable,” he said. He repositioned himself and turned more toward me.

I felt like I was in an interview.

“Okay, well, I guess it all started the day the virus hit. I went into work and I received a call from Tom, he was my client and he needed passes for some corporate executives coming to town. I now know they were members of the vampire council—whatever that means. So, after I made the passes, I went to see Tom to give him further instructions and he asked me out to dinner.

“I said yes against my better judgment, and we met at the restaurant. That’s when he told me about the possible buy out of my company. The news angered me, but he calmed me down. The next day, I saw him with the council members in the lobby and we made a lunch date, he told me he wanted to offer me a job at Psytech and I could take any position I wanted.”

“Wait,” Jesse cut in, “Why did he do that? You aren’t a vampire.”

“Well, he said I had a good work ethic. He’d been trying to get me to work for him ever since I signed him on as a client. Not to mention he wanted me to become a vampire, but that’s later on in the story,” I explained.

“Right, please continue. Sorry for the interruption.”

I smiled. “No problem. So, anyway, I told him I needed to think about it, and he told me I should meet him after the meeting on Wednesday in his company’s warehouse and give him my answer. After I thought about it, I decided I’d be a fool to turn down the offer, so I decided to accept the job. On Wednesday, Tom told me the news before I heard it in the staff meeting; Psytech bought Herrick-Peyton. I went to the meeting anyway and acted surprised when they told my co-workers the news. After the meeting, I went to the warehouse where I met Tom and the entire vampire council. This is where I figured out Tom and his corporate executives were actually vampires and they were behind the virus.

“Tom tried to turn me, but I stabbed him with a pocketknife and tried to run away. I couldn’t get out of the warehouse, so Tom made a deal with me that I could wait three days. They put a wristband on me that would inject me with venom if I got too far away from Tom. So then he took me to his house. The next day we returned to the warehouse. There was some sort of crisis so he drove fast on the way there.”

“What was the crisis?”

“NASA was getting close to disabling the virus. They had computers set up and two Texperts working on them trying to put up more firewalls or something. They avoided the crisis, but ultimately they decided they needed to send someone into NASA to keep them from finding the virus. They wanted someone in place within 48 hours.”

“So they infiltrated NASA?” Jesse interrupted again.

“I think so, they seemed fairly confident it would be easy to do,” I replied.

“A friend of mine works for NASA, I’m going to give him a heads up. Maybe he can find the mole. What happened after that?” Jesse asked as he leaned a little closer.

“Well, one of the council members—Tom’s creator, I later found out—asked Tom away and I was left alone where Tom’s assistant nearly got me killed or changed. Tom intervened and stopped him from draining my blood. Apparently, there are some loopholes in vampire law. Oh, I didn’t tell anyone else that part. I don’t want to worry Alani. Could you keep that between us?” I asked. I’d said too much, but Jesse’s expression was kind and understanding.

“Of course, I won’t. I understand you don’t want Alani to worry more than she already does,” he replied.

“Thanks. After that we spent the rest of the time alone. I made him trust me, and he took off my wristband just before he was going to change me. That’s when I made my escape,” I finished my story with a shrug.

Jesse nodded his head, “I see. Well, that NASA bit is helpful. Although, I am wondering why Tom wanted you to become a vampire so badly. It’s uncommon and quite a mystery to me. Even if he did have true feelings for you, the vampire council would never allow it. The risk of a human knowing the information exposed to you is too large to justify. The feelings of a vampire with a crush are insignificant to the council,” Jesse explained.

“He said it was because he couldn’t bear to see me become a blood slave. He cared for me. I think he’s a pretty powerful vampire, he is head of the Hawaii branch.”

An emotion flickered on Jesse’s face. I couldn’t quite tell what it was. “You care for him too, don’t you?”

Heat washed over me from my face down to my neck. I paused before answering. I didn’t want to expose my feelings for Tom. “Maybe it was Stockholm syndrome. I don’t know, but I did develop feelings for him. Reality slapped me in the face, and I knew we couldn’t be together when Hiu and I stole those devices. His world is too different and I’m not willing to give up my humanity and my life for that world.”

“Is there anything you’re leaving out?”

“No. I told you and everyone else all the important stuff. I’m not going to go into all the little moments Tom and I spent together,” I replied.

“Okay,” Jesse said.

“Why would I intentionally leave out anything important?” I asked.

“Sounds like you were in love with the guy. Or still are. I just want to be sure you’re on our side. This might end in his death,” Jesse said.

I crossed my arms. “I’m on your side. I’m on the same side as my family. That’s why I escaped. If I hadn’t, I’d be a vampire right now and no one would know about any of this. I want to stop this just as much as you do.”

“But if the situation calls for it, will you be okay with killing Tom?” he asked.

I didn’t answer, but the question hit me like a brick.

“I’m sorry. Obviously that’s a conversation you’re not ready for. I do believe you’re on our side. I just don’t think you’ll kill him if you need to and that worries me a little.”