Crimson Echo (29 page)

“And they lived happily ever after?” I whispered.

“We will.” He kissed my forehead.

                                                   
      Chapter Twelve

                                                             
Introductions

                  The moon was full in the purple, gray sky. The snow had melted and refroze many times in the last week and the chill in the night air sent shivers up my spine. I could feel him walking beside me like a fire that was much too close. He radiated heat tonight, even as tiny snowflakes fell around us—melting immediately as they touched his skin. Kane removed his coat and wrapped it around my shoulders. The smell of his warm jacket was almost more than I could handle, but I knew I had to control myself. As we walked through a grassy field, Kane’s hand slowly made its way to mine and I surprised myself by not pulling away.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked.

“You’ll see, just wait.” He pulled back the branches of an old pine tree to let me through. The rusty, red water tower was about thirty feet ahead.

“Kane, what are we doing here?”

“This is where I lost your trust, isn’t it.
The night you found out what I really am.” He squeezed my hand. “I saw the fear in your eyes that night. I scared you.”

“
No, you didn’t scare me.”

“I know what I saw, you were frightened.”

“Maybe a little bit, but you have to understand that it was a lot to process in one night.” I answered honestly.

The corners of his lips turned down into a frown. “I don’t want you to be afraid of me, I would never hurt you.”

“I’m not afraid anymore.”

“Tristan, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I’m not willing let that go. In the last three hundred years I’ve never felt thi
s strongly about life or anyone for that matter and it’s all because of you. You do this to me, you make me happy.”

I stuttered, but couldn’t find a reaction that suited my emotions.

“I miss you.” He added.

“I’ve missed you too.” I gave in, letting myself feel the sentiments. I walked toward him to stand under the water tower and gazed at it before my eyes returned to his.

            His hand gripped my waist, pulling me closer to him and my head tilted and before I knew what was happening I was completely and utterly lost in his embrace and it wasn’t long before I was kissing him back. My eyes started to moisten, but I fought the tears back. I wanted him in my life more then I had even realized. 

           
He took my breath away with his kiss as his hand caressed the small of my back. I wanted to get lost in this moment forever. To an outsider we must have looked like any other teenage couple, but the truth was far more interesting. I kissed him with fever and I felt his lips begin to heat up and I knew it would be seconds before he pulled away.

“Tristan, calm down,” he breathed. “I’m not going anywhere.”

I turned my head as my cheeks began to burn. “Sorry, I’m just so… happy.”

“Does that mean we’re good now?” He asked, ignoring the embarrassment all over my face.

“Five by five.”

“I’m not sure I’m familiar with that term.” He murmured
.

“O
h… It means were good.” I nodded.

“
I think it’s time.” He said grabbing my hand. “No more secrets, right?”

“What have you got up your sleeve Kane Evans?”

“Nothing,” He rolled up his sleeves to show me that there wasn’t anything there. “I think it’s time for my family to meet you.”

“
Your… family?” I gulped audibly.

“Yes, of course. You’re going to have to meet them sooner or later.”

            I took in a deep breath and tried to calm my now erratic heartbeat. I hadn’t seen this coming at all. I took another deep breath and tried to imagine what Kane’s family would be like. As Kane stared at me waiting for me to speak I debated whether or not I should run, run from him and his family. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for such a big step.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“I’m… I’m nervous.” I was on the verge of hyperventilating. “What about Sabrina?”

“You have nothing to be nervous about.” He laughed. “Sabrina will be on her best behavior, I guarantee that.”

“What if I say something wrong? Is there a certain etiquette for dealing with a family of witches?”

“
No, we’re people just like you. They’re probably just as nervous about meeting you. Don’t worry so much.” He smoothed out the wrinkle in my forehead and then kissed me gently.

“I wish I would have know this was going to happen tonight, I would’ve dressed more appropriately.” I frowned, looking down at my jeans and tennis shoes.

“They’ll love you, come on.”

“Are you sure about this?” I took another deep breath.

“I’m positive, now hold on tight,” he laughed. “I have to orb us back to the car.”

           
I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could hopping it would cause him some much deserved pain in the process. I felt my entire body tingle, kind of how your foot feels if you sit on it for too long. I opened my eyes when the tingling stopped and he was already reaching for the car door.

“Nice trick.
” I whispered as I leaned against his car for stability.

“Are you dizzy, do you need to sit down?” he asked concerned.

“I’ll be okay, just give me a minute.” I kept my eyes closed so that everything would stop spinning.

“I think that must be a side effect of the orbing. I’m sorry, I didn’t think about that.”

“Has that happened to anyone else before? Is it normal?” I tried to breathe through the nausea.

“I’ve never had anyone piggyback an orb before, especially not a human.” He admitted.

“I’m the first?”

“You’re my very first passenger.” He laughed at his own joke.

“I think I’m feeling better now.”

“Get in.” He rolled his eyes at me and then helped me into the car
.

I hesitated and shot him a frightened glance
as he buckled his own seatbelt.

“I’ll
keep it under a hundred, I promise.” He caressed my cheek. “I have precious cargo on board.”

           
I leaned into his hand, feeling the warmth against my cheek and he rubbed his thumb across my bottom lip—not exactly what I was wanting. I waited for him to kiss me, but it didn’t happen. I just needed one more to make sure it was real. I couldn’t even figure out which way was up when Kane was around muddying up my thoughts with his magic.

           
I was brought out of my frenzy when I noticed the car had started to slow outside of a large iron gate with an ‘E’ woven into it. It required a pass code and a finger print. On either side of the gates were brown, brick barriers covered in mossy, green vines that sprawled out in both directions for as far as I could see. Gravel crunched beneath the wheels as it turned and twisted, creating a path in front of us.

           
The path was only big enough for two cars and it was surrounded on either side by Large green trees that hung high overhead. We continued on this road until it ended. The car came to another halt in front of a thick wall of bushes. Kane pressed a button on the complicated dashboard and the foliage began to slide open, revealing another path.

“Top secret much?” I laughed.
“You’re not a conspiracy theorist are you?”

“Just an extra precaution, we don’t want to be caught and dissected by the government as some sort of alien experiment.”

I couldn’t help picturing Kane lying on a cold, metal operating table being sliced open by monsters in white coats, all in the name of science. I shuttered at the thought.

“Stop worrying so much, nothing is going to happen to me
.” He sighed.

“How do you know I was worrying about you?” I asked, looking up at him.

“I can see it all over your face.”

           
I held my breath as we made one last turn. I couldn’t even call it a house, it was a mansion. It was set back nearly an acre from the road— I’m sure that was no coincidence. The roof was paved in curved terra cotta shingles and the outside of the house was covered in brownstone. The front yard was littered with trees and large statues lined a stone walkway.

“Are those the Greek Gods?” I asked pointing
to the gray statues.

“
Most of them, my mom is obsessed with Greek Mythology.”

            Then I saw a
garden that was immaculately groomed and it sat higher up near the front door, which had an intricately stained glass mural placed right in the center with another emblam of an ‘E’. The driveway wrapped around to the backyard and we followed it to the side of the house. Kane stepped out first and rushed around to the passenger side to help me out.

“This is your house? It’s incredible.” I marveled.

“It’s a bit pretentious, I know.”

“No, it’s beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a house as big as yours.”

I gasped as I realized I would be meeting his family momentarily. I began to fuss with my hair, trying to smooth it out before we made it inside.

“You look beautiful, don’t worry. They are going to love you as much as I do.
” He caught my hand and held it so I couldn’t fidget.

            Kane
pulled me through the yard, up to the front porch and inserted the key into the door. He shut the door behind us and held onto my waist as he observed my reactions. I looked around the foyer in awe, admiring the marble floor as it glistened in the moonlight. The spiral staircase was the next thing to catch my eye.

“Do you want a tour?” He smiled at me.

“Yes!” I nodded.

“Which would you like to see first, the upstairs or the downstairs
?”

I pointed toward the ceiling an
d stepped up onto the first stair, pulling him with me.

“Upstairs it is then.” He laughed.

            We made our way up the long, winding staircase hand in hand as I stared over the railing. Old family photos were displayed by the hundreds on the wall leading up the stairs and I tugged on Kane’s hand as I stopped to stare at them. The pictures started out as paintings— some in black and white and some in color. The paintings were mostly of a man and a woman who looked like they were in love.

“That’s my mother and father.” Kane pointed out.

“You look like them. More like your father, I think.” I stared at Kane and then back to the painting. “Funny clothes though.”

“Ah, a product of the times.”
Kane laughed.

           
As we moved up the stairs there were more photos, these were all a gray muted color. Kane smiled as he looked at them. Most were still just of his mom and dad, but as I went further I saw one with his parents and a small child. His parents were sitting in chairs and the little boy sat at their feet.

“Who is that?” I asked, pointing at the baby.

“That’s my older brother Jackson. He’s… no longer with us.” He frowned.

“Oh, I’m sorry for your loss.”

“There’s plenty more to see, let’s keep going. Shall we?” He hurried me along up to the next set of photos.

“Sabrina?” I asked as
I noticed a little girl in a ruffled dress being introduced into the pictures now.

“Yes, that’s Sabrina
.” He leaned against the railing. “She was spoiled, even then.”

“Kane, be nice.” I scolded him.

“This is where I start making an appearance. This was sometime in the late seventeenth century.”

“Look how cute you are!” I smiled. “You were adorable.”

“That’s enough.” I thought I saw him blush, which was a first for Kane.”

“Don’t be embarrassed.”
I hugged him around the waist.

“These were taken after the twins were born. That’s Kole and Kaleb.” He pointed them out to me.
“And these are the more recent pictures here.”

            I followed Kane up the stairs a little farther to see the newer photos of him and his family. They all looked so happy. In most of the pictures they all donned formal wear. They were all so beautiful— it looked more like an ad out of a
high fashion magazine. I was especially fond of the ones where Kane was dressed in a suit.

“How long ago was this one taken?” I asked, staring at a photo of Kane and all of his siblings sitting together on the front porch.

“That was about sixty years ago. It seems like it was just yesterday.”