Awakening (The Vampire Destiny Series Book #3) (19 page)

Grabbing the first box marked ‘books’, I was preparing to rip into it when I felt Stefan's hand on my shoulder.  Staring up into his handsome face, a sense of calm flooded our bond.  He smoothed the hair away from my face, sweeping his thumb over my lower lip.

“You want answers, as do I.  Let me help you."

He was true to his word.  He was by my side hour after hour as we sorted through boxes of the same books we’d packed together.  It was at best a wild goose chase; I had no idea what I was looking for.  I knew that I didn’t have any journals from Garrett in my physical possession.  There had to be a clue hidden somewhere.  But where?

Stefan ripped open the tape on the final box.  We exchanged a tense look as he began pulling book after book, flipping through them at lightning fast speed.  He barked out a loud laugh and shook his head in admiration.

“Your uncle and mother share an interesting sense of humor.  I would have liked to have met them.”  Stefan flipped the book around so I could see the cover.

“
Cyrano de Bergerac
?”  I took the book from his hand.  Paging through the book, I choked back a gasp when I came to the back cover of the book.  Taped inside was a small skeleton key with the words ‘William J. Prior Virtue & Knowledge’ written underneath in Garrett’s handwriting.  Gently pulling the tape away, I palmed the key and closed the volume to glance at the cover.  My mother’s words floated through my mind.  ‘
When you begin to search for your past, the key to find the truth will be under your nose, Josephine.’

I’d underestimated Garrett when I was a teenager, sometimes growing exasperated with his obsessive bookworm behavior.  Like Stefan, I now appreciated his activities in an entirely new light.  His twisted sense of humor and eclectic choice of books was beginning to make sense to me.  From
The Picture of Dorian Gray
, his impassioned letter to me in a hardcover biography of Napoleon and finally, the key to finding his journals had been tucked away in a book about Cyrano de Bergerac.  Everything had a meaning behind it.

“Do you know what this key belongs to, vackra?”  Stefan asked.  His voice broke through my reverie, drawing me back to the issue at hand.

“No, but I think he gave me another clue.  We need to find a book by William J. Prior.  Possibly it’s called Virtue & Knowledge.”  I said.  Stefan quickly scanned the piles until he found what I requested.  Smiling crookedly, he brandished a paperback with the title
Virtue and Knowledge: An introduction to Ancient Greek Ethics
.  He tossed it to me and I slowly poured over each page for a hint or a clue.  Stefan moved to sit behind me, reading over my shoulder as I slowly turned page after page.

His deep voice sounded thoughtful as he pointed to a section of the book that was marked with bright yellow marker.  “The section on Eudaemons is highlighted.  Does that mean anything to you?”

Engrossed in my reading, I barely responded to his question.  “No.  But Garrett studied many things.”  I was halfway through the book when I noticed my uncle’s scrawl again at the top of the page with a highlighted section.  It was a series of numbers: 39°192453N 82°52463W.

Coordinates.

“I think this is it.  He’s sending me a message.  His journals are there.”  I pointed at the numbers, tracing the slight indent with my finger.  I knew them all too well.  “It’s my hometown in Ohio.  My uncle knew the issues I had from an early age.  In retrospect more than likely it was because he knew my mother had the same or similar ability.  He chose to move us to a smaller town for me.  We lived in a rural area in Southeastern Ohio.  He was the librarian at the local university.  It was difficult, but it could have been worse.  He taught me how to shield my mind, how to cope with reading the future of every person I came into contact with on a much smaller scale than living in a big city.”

“Why would he send you back there?”  Stefan questioned.  His mind spun into action, his fast-moving thoughts challenging to monitor.  “You have his possessions with you, yes?”

Turning my head to nuzzle my nose against his cheek, I let out a small breath.  “I do have some of his things.  But their house is still there.  When they died, I packed up the things I wanted to keep.  I couldn’t bear to sell the house, so I pay a neighbor to act as a caretaker for the property.  It’s possible Garrett’s journals could be there.  Somewhere.”

Stefan sat up straight and ran his long fingers over my thigh.  “This will have to wait until after the meeting.  We cannot leave until after the situation with the Council is resolved.”

“I know, sweetheart.”  I nodded in agreement.  He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulling my back against his chest.  “What do you think my mother meant when she said it all began when I took on this human form?”

I detected his hesitation in the bond.  “I think we both know what it means.  Your recollections of my memories means you are more than simply this hybrid creature we think you are.  We just do not know what the more happens to be.”

He continued to hold me in his arms as we surveyed the destruction of the room.  We’d haphazardly ransacked the boxes, leaving books and papers tossed in messy piles as we searched.

Stefan’s lips tickled against my ear.  “Your brother is on his way up to talk to you.  Would you like me to leave or to stay?”

“Stay.  But let me tell him about our mother.  It’s better that he hears it from me, don’t you think?”  I asked quietly.  I turned in his arms and looked up into his incredibly handsome face.  His blond hair was messy, his face smeared with dirt and ink from the books. 

“Then I will stay and let you talk to your brother.”  Stefan lowered his mouth to mine, catching my lips in the softest of kisses.  “No matter what we find out, we will do it together.  We were separated for much too long to do this alone, vackra.”

***

Nikolaus had arrived as Stefan predicted and was now sitting in his usual seat on the couch, his heavily tattooed arms stretched across the back of the couch.  He was edgier than usual, glancing from Stefan to myself before nervously gnawing on his lower lip.

“I know you have things to tell me.  I woke up this morning with this weird feeling in my gut.  For a while, it was like you weren’t even here anymore.  So just spill it already.”

Just as Nikolaus had his usual seat sprawled on the couch, I occupied my normal spot curled on Stefan’s lap.  He cradled me in his arms and gently traced patterns on my back with his fingers.  I glanced up at Stefan in question and he nodded.

“Where do you want me to start?”

Nikolaus let out a loud exhalation of aggravation.  “You could start telling me why you’re wearing a gigantic diamond on your finger and we’ll go from there.  That might be a nice beginning point.”

Glancing down at the ring that adorned my left hand, my eyes traced the diamonds and rubies lovingly.  “Stefan and I are now bonded.  He asked me to marry him and I accepted.  We won’t be doing anything soon, but we want to be committed in every way possible.  The more ways we are connected, the harder it will be to separate us.”

“You’re expecting my father to attempt to separate you again?  Sounds about right.”  Nikolaus’ green eyes turned to slits as he sized up Stefan.  “You could have asked me first.  I am her brother after all.”

“Nikolaus, it was a spur of the moment thing.  We bonded and my thoughts switched to thinking that the ritual was more than a simply a marriage.  He offered to marry me and at first I turned him down.  I didn’t want him to feel obligated to marry me out of protection.  Lukas was quick to point out the error of my ways.”  Reaching up, I absently stroked Stefan’s cheek.  His much bigger hand quickly grabbed it and brought it to his lips, slowly and painstakingly kissing each finger with his soft lips.  With his simple touch, my barely checked longing unleashed inside of me.  Renewed desire coursed through my veins, leaping to life under the sensation of his lips on my skin.  I could feel his need simmering in his thoughts as he kissed each fingertip sensuously.

Nikolaus cleared his throat, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand.  “Let’s move along.  What else happened?  You were off the radar for a while this morning.”

Taking a deep breath, I glanced up at Stefan. 
“He needs to know.  I have to tell him, Stefan.”

Stefan released my hand and slouched deeper into the chair.  He gave me an almost imperceptible nod. 
“Then you need to tell him.”

Lifting myself from his lap, I went to sit at my brother’s side.  He twisted slightly on the couch to face me, his face filled with eager anticipation.  “I met our mother.  But it was more than a dream, Nikolaus.  It was real.”

He said nothing.  His green eyes lost focus as he stared at me, disbelief creeping over his striking face.  “What do you mean you met our mother?  Josie, this isn’t funny.”

I placed my hand on his arm and he quickly jerked away from my touch.  “You can read my mind and you know I wouldn’t bullshit you, especially about this.  It happened last night Stefan and I met with Nigel.  I’m assuming you know about our father’s journal?”

Nikolaus slowly nodded.  “Nigel showed me the book yesterday after he met with you.  It was disgusting, but not unexpected.  He also told me you were asking questions about the other two Board members.  It’s better to not ask questions you don’t want the answers to, Josie.”

Touching his arm again, I was pleased that he didn’t pull away.  “I do want the answers.  Our father is evil, worse than probably either of us can possibly imagine.  In a few hours, Stefan and I have to head over to testify in front of the Council members regarding Derek’s death.  We both know our father will be waiting to attempt to approach me.  I need to know everything I can…”

Stefan interrupted me, his deep voice deadly calm as he addressed my brother.  “Nikolaus, two things I know for certain.  One, your father brutally killed your mother.  Two, he experimented on your siblings when they exhibited no power, no use for his bigger plan.  For some reason, you and Josie were both spared.  The bigger question is why.  Armes appeared to Josephine in some sort of dream or vision.  Your mother told her many things neither of us understand yet.  From what we discovered today, I am inclined to believe your uncle left information for your sister.  We just need to find it.”

Nikolaus swallowed hard.  His eyes closed and when they reopened, his hand clasped mine.  I opened my mind to him, giving him free access to my memories of the experience I’d had with our mother. It was easier than trying to explain every feature and I didn’t want to leave out a single detail.

“She told me to tell you she loved you, Nikolaus.  She didn’t want you to blame yourself for what happened to her.  There was no way you could have stopped Kian.  You were a child yourself.”  I held his hand reassuringly. “I have to find the information that our mother said Garrett left for me.  Then we can begin to right the wrongs of our father.  I never knew our mother, but I love her. I want justice for her too.“

A quiet tranquility filled the room.  Stefan elegantly rose from the chair to stand at the windows.  He clasped his hands behind his back as he stared into the New York skyline.  “I promise you now, Nikolaus.  I will help you do whatever it takes to avenge her death.  However, you must promise to wait for the proper time.  Do I have your word that you will wait for the suitable time to proceed?”

Nikolaus hesitated for the briefest of moments.  “Before I agree, I have one request.”

Stefan didn’t move from the windows.  His voice was steady and unwavering.  “I offer you the thing you want most and you still ask for more?  Name your request.”

“When you kill him, I want him to suffer.  I want him to beg for mercy, the same mercy he never had for my mother,” Nikolaus replied quietly.  “Can you promise me you’ll make him pay for what he did?”

Stefan finally turned to face us both.  His mouth curved into the cruelest of smiles, his handsome face becoming beautifully sinister, his eyes blue butane. “You have my word.”

He meant every word.  Even though Stefan hated the dark side of himself, he was willing to lose himself to right what he considered a wrong.

For the first time since my brother’s arrival, his tense shoulders relaxed and his mischievous smile returned.  “Then we have a deal.”