Ignite (Midnight Fire Series Book One) (13 page)

Most of all, Kira wondered about her parents,
her real parents. She wondered who they were and why her aunt had
to raise her. The mystery of her sister was easy to explain now.
Kira almost laughed to herself. Ever since her sister had been
born, she had asked whom the mistake had been. Clearly, Kira was
the misfit. It was almost comforting to have one question answered,
but the answer left her feeling empty. A mistake? The word rolled
around in her head, knocking everything out of place. Not only her
parents mistake, her life itself was also a mistake, one that could
end the world as she knew it if more vampires found out.

Luke left her in the living room to go find
some blankets for the pullout she would be sleeping on. When he
came back, he unfolded the couch and made it into a bed for her. He
fluffed the pillow and pretended to be a bellhop showing her around
a hotel suite, but went to get her water when she never cracked a
smile.

Kira’s cell phone rang while Luke was in the
kitchen. The caller ID said it was home, her mother she assumed,
but she let it go to voicemail. When she closed her phone, she saw
the edge of the burn mark on her hand. She let her cell fall onto
the couch so she could peer at the spot more closely. Her hands
looks like they had little starbursts on them, like she had put a
red paint ball between her palms and pressed together to make it
explode. She ran her finger along the edge and felt the raised line
of the burn. It didn’t sting at all. She hadn’t even noticed her
hands until Luke had mentioned the marks to her on the pier.

"It’ll go away," Luke said when he walked
back inside and saw her staring. He gave Kira the glass of water.
"The burns I mean. After a while they’ll go away and each time you
use your power, they’ll show up less and less."

Kira clenched her fists and looked away. She
didn’t want to think about using her power again.

"Kira, we’re not evil. It’s a gift not a
curse." She rolled her eyes and grabbed for the water, taking it
from Luke’s hand. "I’m going to show you something, something I
used to do as a kid when I couldn’t fall sleep." He left the room
and returned after a few minutes with a six-inch disco ball in his
hand. Kira finally laughed.

"You danced disco when you couldn’t
sleep?"

"Hey, I’ll have you know I do a mean
rendition of the
Saturday Night Fever
dance, thank you very
much." He laughed with her and she felt almost happy again. But the
moment passed.

"Okay, Kira, I know you. I know you’re afraid
of yourself right now, of what I’ve told you, but it can be a
beautiful thing. When I was little, my mom always told me how I
would grow up to help save people’s lives. And, I’d sit in my bed
at night, so angry I was just a kid and couldn't go out on
adventures yet. So when I couldn't sleep, I would practice my
skills just hoping and waiting for the day when I would be good
enough to leave Sonnyville for the real world. But, right before I
went to bed, I would take out my disco ball—stop laughing—I would
take out this totally awesome and not at all embarrassing or funny
disco ball I stole from my older sister and do this."

Kira smothered her giggle as Luke lifted the
string attached to the disco ball and held it in front of them.
With his other hand he spun the ball then shot a small, completely
controlled sliver of light from his hand. As soon as the beam
struck the disco ball, circles like moving diamonds twinkled and
spun around the dark room. She looked around, feeling more like she
was in a planetarium than a living room, and was awed by the scene.
He let the light die out and gave her the disco ball.

"When you’re ready, we’ll start practicing
your gift. And when you feel comfortable, pull this from your
drawer and give it a try." He stood from the couch and looked back
at her before he walked to his room. "Goodnight, Kira."

"Night, Luke," she said as he disappeared
around the corner. She let the silver globe fall into her lap and
kept an eye on the spot Luke had just vacated. Why, she asked
herself, couldn’t she have fallen for him instead? Luke was
perfect. He was funny and charming, and someone she could tell
everything too, but still she thought of him as a brother. He could
spill light from his own hand, but still couldn’t spark anything
within her.

Something was wrong with her, Kira decided,
since she was some sort of mixed breed freak. Her heart just didn't
work the right way. Maybe she was only attracted to other misfits,
which was exactly what Tristan was after all. He was a vampire who
seemed to want to be human. You couldn’t get more out of place than
that, she thought.

Kira sighed and laid down on the sofa,
curling under the blankets Luke had set up for her. As she rolled
up into a fetal position, Kira wished that when she woke up
tomorrow it would all be dream. But maybe that, she realized, was
just too impossible to ask for.

The next morning, when Kira woke up on Luke’s
couch, drool dribbled down her cheek and her head pounded from a
headache. Yeah, she thought, yesterday really happened. She smelled
coffee from the kitchen and dragged herself from the warmth of the
covers to face her new life. Today, she had to talk to her mother.
Kira had to learn about her real parents and about her history.
There was no turning back and there never would be. All she could
do was rise to the challenge.

"I guess we can add skipping school to the
list of badass things you’ve done," Luke said, as he entered the
living room. "It’s right up there with taking on four vamps all by
yourself." She tried to smile and took the cup he handed to
her.

"Advil?" She asked. He nodded and returned a
few minutes later with two maroon pills in his hand.

"Headache?" She nodded. "How are you feeling
otherwise?"

"A little shocked and awed, a little scared
out of my mind and just a little like myself." Kira took another
sip and felt a rush of warmth spread through her body in a
completely natural sort of way. It was refreshing. "So what happens
now, Luke?"

"I take you home and you talk with your
mom."

"You mean my aunt."

"No, I mean your mom. Whether she gave birth
to you or not is irrelevant. She still raised you and she’s still
your mom." Kira nodded slightly at his words, hoping she would
eventually feel the same way and not just betrayed.

"I meant more along the lines of, I’ve
accepted this whole supernatural world business and I’ve accepted
whatever birthright I have, so what happens now?"

"I’m supposed to train you and teach you, but
we can worry about that later. Now, let’s watch the new episode of
Top Chef
I have saved on my DVR. You observe the food and
I’ll observe Padma Lakshmi."

"Sometimes I worry about you," Kira said as
she rolled over to lean her head on his shoulder. It was her
favorite show and she relished in the normalness of it.

For the next hour, Luke made inappropriate
comments about the host and Kira unsuccessfully tried to turn his
attention to the food and the art of being a chef. They sipped
coffee and attempted to enjoy the peace. But, Kira felt her heart
constrict when Padma resolutely said, "Please pack your knives and
go." The words sounded more like a death sentence to Kira, who knew
she needed to pack up and go as well. Her parents would be furious
with her and had probably been calling her nonstop. Thank God for
the ability to turn a cell on silent, Kira thought to herself.

She helped Luke put the pull-out-couch away
and folded the sheets she had used. Then Kira helped drop the dusty
brown cushions back in their place, carried the dirty dishes into
his tiny old-fashioned kitchen with hideous blue cabinetry, and
finally grabbed her handbag to follow him out the door.

"Luke?" She said after a while of driving in
silence. He looked over in her direction to show she had gained his
attention. "Thanks for everything. For letting me spend the night,
for coming to stop me when I couldn’t stop myself, and for the
doing the hard thing by telling me the truth." He reached over and
squeezed her hand. "Do you think we could do something fun and
normal tomorrow? It will be Saturday," she asked when they pulled
up in front of her house.

"I’ll rally the troops and surprise you. Now,
good luck. Call me if you need me later."

"Thanks," she said as she pushed the car door
open and slid out. Luke drove away, leaving her alone in front of
her home. It had never seemed as daunting as it did then. The car
was in the driveway, meaning her mother had skipped out on work.
The real question in Kira’s mind was, is she angry or worried? Will
I open the door to screaming and yelling, or hugs and kisses? If
Kira knew her mother, the wrath of God was about to fall upon
her.

Hesitantly, Kira lifted her foot, let it
hover above the ground for a moment, and then placed it in front of
her to begin the long walk to her front door. She had decided this
morning to rise to the occasion, and Kira had a feeling this
conversation would be the toughest part.

The front door opened before she even had
time to take her key out of her handbag.

"Where have you been?" Her mother shouted and
pulled her inside by the arm. "Your father and I have been worried
sick. We were up all night. I must have called you a hundred times,
but did you call us back? No! Of course not. Why bother to calm the
woman who has raised you since birth and thought you dead in a
ditch by the side of the road?"

Kira fought the urge to scream back and
allowed her mother to vent her frustration. It almost felt normal,
and in some weird way the fight comforted rather than hurt Kira.
But, all she kept thinking was how dare you yell at me—you lied to
me, for my whole life you lied to me. Who are you? Why didn’t you
tell me? Why didn’t you protect me?

Kira let out a slow breath and tried to rein
in her anger. She needed answers, and she had a feeling that she
would need family. Eventually, they could be her true family
again.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Her mother panted when she had finished ranting.

"I almost died," Kira said softly. She wasn’t
sure how to talk to her mother about this without sounding
accusatory, and she figured remaining calm would be the best
decision. "Vampires almost killed me." The words came out with a
trace of bitterness that Kira couldn't fight, but she couldn't hide
all her feelings. She almost wanted to cry and fall into her
mother’s arms, but she held back and watched as her mother’s hand
rose to catch the gasp leaving her mouth. Kira observed as her mom
backed up into the couch and, like an afterthought, fell into a
seated position.

"Oh God, oh God," her mother repeated until
Kira came to sit down next to her. "Where was Luke? I never
imagined you’d been in real danger." Kira grabbed her mother’s
shaking hand.

"It’s okay, I saved myself…" Kira let her
words linger. Her mother stiffened and looked at Kira with eyes
full of horror.

"How much do you know?"

"Not everything, but enough. I stayed with
Luke overnight because I needed some time to adjust before I came
home. I wasn’t sure how it would feel to look at you knowing I was
just a mistake, that I’m your charge and not your daughter. Oddly
enough, it feels half-normal and only half-painful." Kira let her
fingers slip from her mother’s and moved to the other end of the
couch, rolling her knees into her chest. Her mother sat very still,
looking straight ahead with wide eyes.

"Will you ever forgive me?" She whispered
while bowing her head into her hands.

"I hope so," Kira answered truthfully. She
didn't know if she could ever let the pain of not knowing who she
was fall away. She loved her mother, but right now she felt as
though she didn't know who her mother really was. "Were you ever
going to tell me I was adopted? That my whole life has been a
lie?"

"Oh, Kira." Her mother reached for her hand,
but Kira moved it away, not ready to forgive her yet. "It hasn't
all been a lie. I am your mother, in every way but genetically.
Your father and I love you. Your sister loves you. We’ve always
been a family." A tear escaped Kira’s eye then. "If you won't
forgive me right now, will you at least let me explain?"

"Yes," Kira let the word slip from her mouth
before she could stop it. This was the point of no return. Once the
story was told, everything about her heritage would be true, but in
some ways she thirsted for it. She needed a history—a past to hold
on to. "You need to start with my real parents."

"Can we talk outside?" Her mother asked while
rising from the couch. "These are stories even your father cannot
hear."

Kira nodded.

She and her mother always had important
conversations outdoors. Like when she had wanted to go to boarding
school, they had walked in a park for an hour. When she got her
ears pierced, they had gone to the swing set in her old backyard.
Something about the wind and the trees seemed calming—they made
even the biggest arguments seem small. For the first time, Kira
wondered if it was a conduit trait, that maybe something about
being in the sun calmed her people. But, she pushed the thought
aside, not wanting to linger on any musings that made her feel at
all subhuman.

Kira grabbed a blanket to wrap around her
shoulders and quickly made instant hot chocolate to bring outside
while her mother ran up the steps. She set her mother’s cup on the
table and nestled into the chair to wait. The air was cool on her
check—a typical Carolina fall. The leaves of the dense forest
behind her house rustled with each churning breeze, almost like
waves with their cyclical splash. But here, only the scent of salt
in the air reminded her that she lived on the coast.