Blood Awakening (27 page)

“I do know that,” she said, an oddly confident lilt in her voice. “Do you wanna know how I know that?” I didn’t have to look at her face to know she was smiling.

“Why not,” I said, all but defeated.

Kayla tugged my arm as she stopped walking; Erik and Lacey were several feet in front of us before she spoke. “Because I know what it is that Sebastian and Zyris really want.”

“What? How could you possibly know that?” The trauma of the night must have affected her brain.

“I think they’re planning to take over humans.”

Okay, the trauma of the night had definitely affected her brain.

“What are you talking about, Kayla? That’s ridiculous.” But was it? I mean, in a matter of months, I had been pulled from the ground as a hybrid vampire, learned that vampires were real, watched my sort-of-boyfriend die and come back undead…was this really that far of a leap in the world of possibilities?

“No it’s not,” she said. “I remember reading all about this stuff in my dad’s journals.” Her eyes practically glossed over as she began recalling the past two years she had spent rifling through her father’s life. “Apparently, a coven of vampires had been planning to overthrow the human race, sort of like a war. I don’t remember all the details right now, but they wanted to take their ‘rightful place on top’ or some crap like that.” She grabbed my shoulders like they do in those cheesy action movies she forced me to watch over and over. “Ava, I think Sebastian and Zyris are that coven.”

Okay, so her theory wasn’t completely ridiculous. From what little I knew about vampires, I could easily see how their highly inflated egos would lead them to believe that they belonged at the top of the food chain. “Really? Why?”

She let go of my shoulders. “It was all that crap Sebastian was spewing just before he and his fanged kennel club disappeared like donuts in a police station.”

Somehow, my mind had forgotten Sebastian’s words. “You mean about wanting vampires to come out of hiding?”

“Yeah,” she said, her voice frantic with excitement. “Don’t you think that sounds like a bunch of bull?”

“I don’t know,” I answered. “I can understand it, I guess.” I couldn’t help but imagine how different my life would be if I didn’t have to worry about hiding the vampire inside of me, how much easier things would be if I could just be my true self.

“Sure,” Kayla said, “it makes sense.” A slight pause, then, “But I don’t think he was telling the truth.”

I looked over at her, studying the seriousness on her face through the darkness. “And what makes you think that?”

“When he said that we couldn’t stop what they were doing, that we were foolish if we thought we could.” She stopped walking and went silent. Her voice was much lower when she said, “Why would he think we would want to stop him if what he was doing wasn’t wrong?”

I honestly hadn’t even considered that Sebastian wasn’t being truthful about his intentions all those years ago, but Kayla’s mere suggestion sent my mind into Theory Land.

Could Sebastian have been lying, just telling us some ridiculous idea to get us to back off?

Could he and Zyris really be planning something far worse than just revealing the existence of vampires?

The idea was far-fetched, yes, but so was everything else that had happened to me in the past few months.

“That could mean anything, Kayla,” I said, though not entirely convinced anymore. “He could’ve just meant that we couldn’t stop them from taking Chance.”

“Or that we couldn’t stop them from taking over the world.” I stared at her. “Admit it,” she went on, “it’s possible.”

“Fine,” I gave in, “it’s possible.” She almost smiled. “But I doubt it.”

“Well, I don’t.” She started walking again, and I followed suit. “I know I’m right, Ava. We just need to get to a computer so I can prove it.”

“How are you gonna prove it?”

“My dad’s journals. I remember reading all about it. I know it’s in there. I just need to find it.”

“So what, his journals are just on the internet somewhere?”

“Of course not.” We stepped off the bridge and crossed the open lawn of the park toward the car, where Erik and Lacey were huddled to stave off the bitter night air. “I have them on a jump drive.”

“A jump drive?”

“Yep.”

“And you just happen to have this jump drive with you?”

She reached into the top of her shirt and pulled out the black cord necklace and strange-looking pendant she had been wearing almost every day I had known her. “Never leave home without it.”

“That’s your jump drive?” I asked as she unlocked the car and we climbed inside. “I thought you just had really strange taste in jewelry.”

“Funny,” she said, starting up the Volvo and leaving the park. “I might have weird taste in jewelry,” she went on, “but I also have the one thing that’s gonna help us win this.” Erik, Lacey and I sat in silence, all of us seemingly aware of Kayla’s love of the dramatic pause. “I have the blueprints to their plan.”

“So these blueprints,” Erik began as Kayla weaved in and out of the late-night traffic of the New Jersey Turnpike. “What exactly are they?” Kayla kept her eyes on the road, speeding up to hop in front of a large delivery truck with the words Krispy Kreme emblazoned on its side, next to a picture of golden donuts. Which immediately made me remember that I had no clue when I last ate something—human or vampire.

“They’re the pages from my dad’s work,” Kayla answered, huffing out a deep breath when she was forced to slow due to the thicket of cars filling the tunnel. “He spent his life studying vampires, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Erik said from the backseat. “But what does that have to do with Crazy and her soldiers?”

“Uh, they’re vampires, duh. Who do you think my dad was studying?”

“Wait,” Erik said. “You think his research is about Zyris and her coven?”

“I don’t know,” Kayla said. “Maybe.” Erik leaned back in the seat, silent.

“Okay, okay.” I took a deep breath, trying to force my mind to focus on the conversation and not on the fact that I was hungry and those donuts were calling to me. “What else do you remember from his research?”

“Like I said, I don’t remember much.” Kayla pressed a hand into the center of the steering wheel, the Volvo’s horn filling the tunnel with an annoying, high-pitched warble. “Come on!” she yelled at the car in front of her.

“You know they can’t hear you, right?” Lacey said from behind my seat.

“Duh,” Kayla said, her eyes on the stalled traffic. “No backseat driving.”

“So, you can’t be sure that what you do remember is exactly right?” I asked, hoping to steer Kayla’s attention back to her memory.

“I can,” she stated. “I told you, Ava, I’ve read his journals a thousand times. I may not remember all the exact details of their plan, but I know they have one.” Another horn blare as we switched lanes and zipped past the car she had singled out a moment ago as the reason for the mini-jam. “I know that my dad found out what this coven had in mind when it came to us. And it wasn’t anything good.”

I couldn’t help but wonder if her us included me.

“Okay,” I said, my mind spinning with ideas. “We get to a computer, and you find out exactly what it is Zyris and Sebastian are up to. What next?”

“Huh?” she asked.

“What do we do? How is knowing gonna help us?”

“Because like G.I. Joe says,” Erik piped up from the back, “knowing is half the battle.”

Kayla and Lacey both laughed a bit. “Perfect,” Kayla said. “And true.”

I wanted to ask who this G.I. Joe was, but the last thing we needed was to get sidetracked again. “What about the other half?” I asked, turning sideways in my seat so I could see Erik—which may not have been the best idea, since adrenaline always made him look hot. And right now, he was practically living off of adrenaline.

“Nothing until I find the nearest computer,” Kayla said. “I don’t wanna make any plans until we know the details.”

“Then take 6th Avenue,” Erik said, sliding forward and sticking his head between the front seats. A strong whiff of his blood flooded my nose, sending my head into a euphoric tailspin.

Kayla took a quick left and headed to… “Where are we going?” I asked him, trying my best not to stare at the vein bulging in his neck.

“My dad’s,” he said, those blue eyes staring at me.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I thought your parents…”

“Died?” He obviously could tell I didn’t want to say it out loud. “Yeah, they did. It’s really my uncle’s place. Lila and I just used to call him dad to keep from having to explain to people, you know?” It was one of the few times he had mentioned his sister without going all dark and depressed, which was completely understandable.

“Yeah,” I said, thoughts of my own unknown parents digging into my mind. “I know.”

“Okay,” Kayla said, breaking the awkward tension. “Where to?”

“All the way to Central Park,” Erik answered, leaning forward and pointing out the windshield. “His office is on Central Park South.”

“Office?” I said.

“Yeah, he’s a dentist.”

“You have got to be kidding,” Lacey said sarcastically. Erik glanced over his shoulder at her before turning back to the city in front of us. “Your uncle is a dentist?”

“Yeah,” Erik said. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing,” Lacey said with a shrug. “It’s just…don’t you find it kind of funny that your uncle is a dentist and you hunt down people with fangs?”

Erik glanced at me, a tiny smile forming in one corner of his mouth. Oh, I really liked that crooked smile. “Never really thought about it,” he finally said to Lacey. “But yeah, I guess it’s kinda funny.”

“Hey Ava,” Lacey said, tapping my shoulder as she spoke. “You may wanna sit in the car while we go inside. Don’t want Erik’s uncle getting a look at those chompers you got.”

If we hadn’t been inside a car, I would’ve jumped her.

“At least she can hide hers,” Kayla said.

Though she didn’t respond, I could practically feel Lacey fuming.

I couldn’t help but smile.

Park South Dentistry was located directly across from Central Park. A combination of brick and stucco, it stood at least ten stories, nestled between other buildings similar in size and appearance. If I had been the one directing us, we would have gone right past it, it blended in so well. I had gotten used to the businesses in Wellesley, the way they stood out, either with garish décor or large, billboard-style signs signaling their existence. Here, shops and homes looked the same.

“Are we gonna get arrested for this?” Lacey asked as we parked the car on the side of the street next to Central Park and climbed out. A low stone wall blocked the park from here, but it still stood out as a nice, lush green in the center of all the grey concrete and buildings.

“Of course not,” Erik said, leading us across the street. “We’re not breaking in.” He fished in his pockets. “I have a key.”

“Oh,” Lacey said. “Good.” She, Kayla and I stood quiet while Erik unlocked the door and we headed inside. He typed a code into a small, beeping box on the wall, silencing the impending alarm.

“Where to?” Kayla asked, already removing her jump drive necklace.

“This way.” Erik stepped around her and led us down a hallway filled with doors that led to what I imagined were torture chambers masquerading as exam rooms. I didn’t have many memories, but I knew without a doubt that I didn’t much care for the dentist’s office.

Erik unlocked another door at the far end of the hall and flipped a switch, flooding the room with horrible overhead light. Large, fake plants filled two of the corners, with a gigantic desk/bookcase combo taking up the others. Without pause, he moved in behind the desk and switched on the computer. After a few seconds, it was ready to go.

“Here,” he said to Kayla, sliding what I assumed was his uncle’s desk chair out for her, “make it quick.”

Kayla wasted no time, plopping into the seat, turning on the computer and clipping her jump drive into the side of the monitor. “Always.” The way these two moved, almost in unison, I got the feeling that they had done this whole not-breaking-and-entering thing before.

“Let’s go up front,” he said to me, taking my arm and practically pulling me from the office. “Lacey, you stay here.”