The BlackBurne Legacy (The Bloodlines Legacy Series Book 1) (13 page)

“No one invited you in, Luka.” I cringe at the hostility on Micha’s face. He truly despises Luka, and I don’t know why.

“It’s fine, Micah,” I tell him, frowning at the anger in his voice.

“See?” Luka smiles coldly. “She want me here.”

“She doesn’t know what…”

“And she knows about…”

“You know she doesn’t…”

“Afraid to tell her?”

“Are you?” Micah dares.

“What are you two talking about?” I demand, unsure where this hostility of theirs stems from. One thing is certain, though. I am not going to put up with their bickering, not today. I need them both right now. God knows why, but I do.

“Nothing to worry about,
munya
,” Luka soothes. His voice wraps around me, and I shiver. Micah, I note, has much the same reaction. Does Luka’s voice affect him too?

“I think it does concern me.” I sit up and swing my legs over the bed. One of those little flashes of intuition tells me it has everything to do with me, and it puts heat into my words. “What’s going on with you two?”

Micah and Luka take an involuntary step backward.

“We may not have a choice in telling her,” Micah whispers.

“You may be right,” Luka agrees, “but is no why I came in.”

“Why did you?” I ask.

“Something you should hear. Come, we hurry.”

We follow him down the hall and into one of the other guest bedrooms. Voices filter through the vent. I go closer. Uncle Sabien?

“No,” Sabien argues.

“They need to know, Sabien.”

“They’re dealing with too much as it is. I don’t think either of them can handle the truth.”

“How can you expect to keep them safe, Sabien?”

“I’m staying here. I promised my sister I’d keep her kids safe. They’re the only family I have left. Besides, we may be jumping the gun here. I haven’t seen any evidence…”

Someone snorts. “Didn’t you listen to what Mark Ashton said? That boy is extremely fast and strong on the field, and sometimes the things he does defies the laws of gravity.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Sabien’s denies. “He’s been playing the sport since he was a small child. Of course he’s good at it.”

“What about Alexandria?” a woman asks.

I realize it’s the people he introduced me to at the funeral.

“What about her?”

“You can’t tell me you didn’t notice her eyes, Sabien.”

My eyes? What about my eyes?

“It doesn’t matter,” he says obstinately. “I’m here, and I will keep them safe exactly as I promised.”

“It would be easier if you told them the truth.”

“
No
.”

“There’s no use arguing when he gets like this.” The woman sighs. “We should get back downstairs before we’re missed.”

I stare blankly at the wall. What the heck is going on?

Luka turns to look at me. “Your uncle say your mother die in car crash, but I no believe is true.”

“But why would he lie?”

“Lie is better than truth,
munya
, if truth will cause pain.”

Emma said Mom left to keep us safe. Now Sabien is here to do the same thing? What is going on? So many questions. My head starts to pound and my stomach gets a little queasy. I haven’t eaten all day, and the stress is making it worse. I need food in order to think.

I hear someone calling my name.

“Emma,” Micah tells me. How can he know it’s her?

I open the door and poke my head out. Sure enough, she’s standing at one of the bedroom doors. “Yeah, Emma?”

“Oh, there you are. I just wanted to check on you.”

“I’m fine. I really wanted a few minutes by myself, so I ducked in here where no one would look for me.”

She nods sympathetically. “You should come down and eat something.”

“I will,” I promise. “Give me a few minutes.”

I close the door and lean against it.

“You do need to eat, Alexandria,” Luka tells me. “You too pale.”

“I’m fine,” I lie. I do need food, but Luka’s pushy manner keeps me from agreeing. It irritates me instead.

“No, you no fine. You need food.”

I shoot him a dirty look for his high-handed tone. Luka always assumes he know what is best for me. Arrogance at its worst. All he ever accomplishes is to make me so mad I want to hit something, preferably him. My hands itch to wrap around his neck and wring it.

“Mind your own business, Luka,” I say instead.

“You
are
my business, Alexandria.” He steps closer, his eyes narrowed.

“Says who?”

“Say
me
.”

“Now is not the time for this conversation, Luka.” Micah steps between us. “I don’t think she necessarily even needs to be present for it.”

“What?” I demand, trying to push Micah out of the way.

“You right,” Luka agrees. “We go back downstairs before anyone else come looking.”

“Ah, no, we’re not going anywhere until you two explain that little comment to me.”

They ignore me.

Micah opens the door.

They aren’t going to say a word.

“Shall we?” Luka gestures for me to lead the way.

Feeling more hostile than I have in a while, I walk stiffly downstairs with them trailing behind.

They will tell me what’s going on.

Even if I have to commit an act of extreme violence.

Chapter

Fourteen

I stand on the cliffs overlooking the beach, shivering in the cold air. I smell the salt and hear the wind as it sighs over the waves. A light drizzle is falling and the dampness seeps through my thin nightgown, causing goose bumps to break out over my bare arms.

My mother sprints toward me, her long legs eating up the distance between us. Good Lord, but she is fast. Faster than anyone I’ve ever seen. Her long sable hair swings as she keeps looking over her shoulder. She stops a foot away from me. Her face is as pale as ivory and shows her sadness, but it is her eyes that hold my attention. They glow with a soft amber color.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” she whispers, looking back once more. “You’ll be safe now. Even if they find you, you’ll be safe.”

She steps off the cliff.

I wake, barely able to breathe.

No. It can’t be.

I recognize those cliffs. I’ve been dreaming about them for days. It was there I’d run from them in my dreams just as my mother ran toward me.

It can’t be.

Just a dream
, I tell myself.

God, please let it be just a dream.

I climb out of bed and make my way to Jason’s room. He’s tossing and turning, the covers thrown into the floor.

“Jase?” I shake him and jump back when I see his eyes. They seem to be…glowing. I blink hard, and when I look again, they’re normal.

“What, what is it?” he asks groggily and sits up.

“I had a nightmare…” My eyes zero in on his feet. They’re dirty. No, they’re filthy. My hand finds the lamp, turning it on.

“Al,” he gripes and rubs a hand over his eyes.

“Jason, why do you have mud on your feet?”

“What?”

I point to his feet. They are caked in mud. It’s almost like he’s been running through the muddy woods. It’s rained for two days straight, and the ground is a sodden mess.

He frowns and examines them more closely. “What the…I haven’t gotten up since I went to bed.”

“Could you have been sleepwalking, maybe?”

His frown deepens, and then I see a small spark of panic brighten his eyes. He can’t remember getting up and walking anywhere. He stares at me in horror for a heartbeat and then forces himself to relax, to calm down. I know what has just gone through that head of his. He’s afraid. He’s afraid my mental illness might be taking hold of him. I never remember anything I did while I was in one my fits, my night terrors. I lose chunks of time.

“It’s probably just you being overly tired and stressed, Jase,” I try to reassure him. I hope that is all it is. “Go get cleaned up, and I’ll throw these sheets in the washer.”

He nods and does as I tell him. I grab a set of new sheets from his closet and change his bed after putting the sheets in the washer. He’s fine, I tell myself forcefully. He is. Worry about my brother drives the memory of the dream I’d had to the back of my mind.

When Jase comes back, he looks tired. I put him to bed and then take a throw and curl up in his cushy chair. It’s a long time before I fall asleep, worry keeping me awake until almost morning. Jase is asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow. He’s exhausted, and I have to wonder if he hadn’t had a mad, three a.m. run through the woods himself. God, I hope we’re not both crazy.

***

The steady knocking wakes me. I yawn and rub my eyes. Jason is up and gone. I stumble through the house and yank open the door. Luka is there, and I almost slam it in in his face. I have serious bed head. He gives me a crooked smile and brushes in past me. The scent wafting from the bags he’s carrying has my stomach growling instantly and my feet trailing him like a lost puppy.

“You need to eat.”

I can even ignore his high-handedness because of the smells assaulting my nose. He unpacks several Styrofoam containers, asking me to get us some silverware and drinks, which I do with some haste. I’m starving. The sight of my favorite breakfast from The Coffee Shop has me all but running to the table. Luka laughs at my eagerness. Since we found out about Mom, my appetite has suffered. Jase and I barely eat anymore.

The sausage is calling my name and I waste no time in digging in. The savory taste explodes across my tongue and I sigh in sheer pleasure. Food orgasm.

“I knew the pup no feed you right,” Luka grumbles as he watches me inhale my food. “You need to eat to be strong.”

“I eat just fine.” I swallow down half the glass of orange juice Luka poured for me and ignore his snort of disbelief.

“How are you?” There isn’t worry for my sanity in his eyes, only for me. I appreciate that.

“As well as can be expected, I guess.”

Dad and Emma keep staring at me, afraid of my withdrawn mood and my screams in the middle of the night. Jason has been tattling. I think I’m scaring him. They’ve come to check on us every day. Jason is having issues as well. He keeps waking up with dirt on his feet, and he can’t remember how it got there. Everything is falling apart. Only one thing really terrifies me, and that is the fact that I’m truly crazy. The last few weeks has made me admit to myself I might be crazy, and my brother could be heading in that direction too. I’m scared for both of us.

I won’t go back to Compton or another facility like it. The only thing my family ever saw was the dorms, the school, and the doctors’ offices. They didn’t see the actual hospital past that initial visit when I was admitted. The rooms are barren, stark, and colorless. The only sounds you hear are the screams, the rants, and the cries from the other patients. The feel of the safety straps is embedded into the surface memories of my skin. I can feel them digging into my arms even now.

The silence is what bothered me the most. Late at night when everyone was asleep, or at least medicated, it would get utterly quiet, the only sounds the ticking of the clock and the beating of my heart. I used to get lost in that rhythm—the sound of the clock and the sound of the pulsing of my blood. It was soothing sometimes, and scared the hell out of me other times. It fascinated me. The sound of life, of blood flowing through a vessel, made me almost dizzy with awareness in those moments. It was as if I could hear the whole of the hospital in the sound of its heartbeats. That was when I knew I had to get out of there, when I started to make a conscious effort to look like I was getting better. If I’d stayed there, I’d never get better, I’d get lost in that cadence of blood.

Crazy, right?

“You no look well,
munya
.” Luka leans forward, his fingers caressing my face. “Please remember to eat.”

“I will. I promise.” When he looks at me like that, I melt. It’s impossible not to. I stand and start clearing the table. The uneaten food goes in the fridge for later. When I turn around, Luka has my journal in his hands, a strange look on his face.

“Where you get this, Alexandria?”

Uh-oh, he only calls me by name if it’s serious. “Emma gave it to me a couple weeks ago. It was a present from my mom.”

“Do you know what it is?” His eyes are intense, causing me to back up a step.

“Do you?” I ask instead of answering.

“Yes. Is a
jurnal vrăjitoare
.”

“A what?”

He frowns, trying to find the right words. “Witch book.”

“Dad called it a witch’s journal.” My voice goes quiet.

“
Arvah
, yes.” He gently sets it back down. I half expected him to flip through it. “Do you understand what it mean?”

“Only what my Dad told me. My mom thought she was a witch, and I guess she wanted me and Jase to have something of her beliefs to hold onto.”

“You no believe in magic?”

“No. I believe in what I can see and touch. Magic is for fairytales.”

“I need to tell you…” Luka’s phone buzzes and he pulls it out. A low growl escapes him. “I must to do something, Alexandria. I will return and we talk more of this witch book.
Arvah
?”

“
Arvah
,” I say on a laugh.

I blink, and he’s standing in front of me, his eyes intent. “Your laugh is lovely. You should do it more.” He leans in and brushes his lips to mine. “I must go.”

“That’s all the kiss I get?” I ask, my hands bunching the front of his shirt and pulling him closer.

A dark chuckle rumbles through him. “If I kiss you like I want,
munya
, you end up naked and bent over the table.”

My thighs clench in response. He gives me a quick kiss and backs away. “Tonight, Alexandria. You get that kiss and more. This
I
promise.”

My eyes widen at the sultry promise.

“You need nap,” he decides. “Go to bed for a while.”

“I do not need to sleep,” I lie. Truth is I do need sleep, but know I won’t get any. Too many nightmares.

“Why always so stubborn?” he asks, exasperated.

“Why are you always so bossy?” I counter.

“Bossy?” He looks startled. Does he not realize how bossy he is?

“Yes, bossy,” I tell him. “You are forever trying to tell me what to do, and I don’t like it one bit.”

His smile turns devilish. “But I like to tell you what to do.”

“Well, you can’t.” I lock eyes with him. His are open and warm, a rare occurrence.

“Oh, but I can, Alexandria.”

A shudder goes through me at the softness in his tone.

He trails a finger down the curve of my cheek. “I show you how much I can tonight.”

Then he’s gone and I slide down the fridge, my butt hitting the floor with a thud. Erotic images of him naked, his mouth on me, dance in front of my eyes. Damn him. He knows exactly how he affects me. If I stay here, I’m going to drive myself crazy with thoughts of what Luka has planned for tonight. I’m not a virgin. Granted, I’ve only slept with one person, but I know what’s coming, and it’s driving me mad thinking about it.

Uncle Sabien has asked me to come by his house for about a week now. I’ve put it off because I don’t want to face the conversation he’d had with his friends. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that is has to do with my mom’s beliefs. What does that mean for me, though?

On my way to my Jeep, I see Conner lounging by his own car. He waves me over as soon as he sees me.

“Hey, babe.” His eyes are twinkling, but I can see concern in them too. “How you been? You look like hell.”

“Gee, thanks.” I roll my eyes and give him a mock punch in the arm. “What every girl likes to hear.” I’m shocked at my easy behavior. A few weeks ago, I’d have been terrified to act like this, my paranoia getting the better of me. With these guys, my friends, it’s like we’ve known each other forever, and I don’t panic around them. My life is weirdly normal, at least on the friends front. The rest of it? Bizarre beyond belief.

“I’m serious, Al.” Conner pushes off the car to face me. “You don’t look well. Are you sleeping? You look really tired.”

“I am,” I sigh. “I haven’t been sleeping very well. Nightmares.”

He raises an eyebrow.

“Weird and scary,” I tell him. “I can’t seem to make myself go back to sleep after I wake up. They scare me.”

“Dreams can be like that. Gran always says we should listen to them, though. They tell us things, help us figure stuff out. We see so much that our minds can’t always process it, but when we dream, we make sense of the things we already know, but can’t quite grasp.”

“That sounds very…”

“Superstitious, I know,” he interrupts me. “Nonsense stuff, but Gran believes it.”

“I think
everyone
in West Virginia is superstitious in one way or another.” That’s an honest truth, right there. I’ve never met such strange, superstitious people in all my life. Granted, most of my life was spent locked away, but still. These people take it to the extreme.

Conner laughs. “That’s true. I’m going to go watch a movie, I think. Want to tag along?”

“No, but thank you. I need to go see my uncle.”

“Probably a good thing you said no, now that I think about it.” A contagious grin spreads across his face. “Luka would beat me within an inch of my life if he thought I was moving in on his territory.”

“He wouldn’t.”

“Yeah, he would.” Conner’s expression turns serious. “Be careful of him, Alex. There is more to him than you think.”

“Not you too.” A sigh escapes. I am so tired of everyone acting like Luka is the Devil incarnate just because he’s not from around here.

Conner bumps his shoulder to mine. “We’re just trying to look out for you. It’s what friends do.”

“Thanks.” The smile I give him isn’t nearly as happy as before. Everyone keeps warning me away from Luka. It’s starting to wear on me. Do they know something I don’t?