Lucas (Immortal Blood) (8 page)

I had been jogging for about ten minutes when my cell buzzed. I stopped and glanced at it. ‘Care to share?’ it said.

‘Face to face. Won’t regret it. Promise,’ I replied.

He didn’t reply immediately and I wanted to text him again. Instead, I started running again and beat my frustration into the ground as my feet hit it fast and hard.

After three minutes my cell buzzed. ‘Kay. Who r u?’

‘A friend.’ I smirked. Total silence. Shoot! I raked my hair and squeezed my eyes closed for a moment. If he didn’t reply, all I could do was trust him to show up. I started to walk towards the school but soon I felt too pissed off to walk and started running again.

Regent’s East High School loomed ahead and I slowed down. I walked to the huge oak and leaned on it. Now all I could do was wait and hope Alex had taken the bait and would show up. The minutes crawled by and nothing happened. Crap. I pulled my hood up and chewed some gum, trying not to get bored to death. I had started to text Sam when a faint noise made me look up. A figure was skulking in the shadows. I sharpened my vision and smiled cruelly. He hadn’t yet noticed me, so I bent down slowly and picked up a long, thick branch. I leant on it as if it were a walking stick and whistled sharply. He turned his head and was next to me in no time.

“You,” he spat and put his hands in his pockets.

“Well, hi to you, too,” I said dryly. “Did you come alone?”

Alex nodded and I smiled. “Good.”

His eyes darted to the left and I knew he had lied. Where he went, his twin brother went too. I straightened my back and stared into his eyes. He swallowed a bit nervously but kept his ground. He was as big as a bull, but something in me made him sweat. Gee, I wonder what it was. I snarled and he flinched.

“No you didn’t,” I said. He blinked once. I put my hand on his shoulder and he stiffened. “But it’s okay. You can call him now.”

He hesitated and I nodded at him, urging him to do it. His eyes darted to the left again and then back at mine. I returned his gaze steadily and finally he put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. “Hey, Rob! You can come here now.”

A shadow parted from the wall and a boy, exactly like him, jogged over to us.

“What’s up?” Rob asked.

I leaped next to him and grabbed him by his throat, making him fly. His head hit the tree. Hard. He thudded to the ground and didn’t get up.

Alex tried to back away, but I eyed him warningly.

He lifted his hands peacefully.
“Chill out, man. I thought you wanted to talk.”

“Oh, I did.” I took the lighter from my pocket and lifted the branch. His eyes almost popped out of his head. He glanced at his unconscious brother and then at the lighter and I knew he wondered if he could take me down by himself. Not a chance. If his brother, lying lifelessly on the ground, wasn’t hint enough for him, then nothing would be. But apparently he could do the math, as it wasn’t easy to knock out a vampire, and I’d done it with one move, so he lowered his hands and stared at me, resigned.

“What do you want?”

I lit the branch and he inhaled sharply and took a step closer to his brother.

“Look,” he continued nervously, “I heard about your little incident with Sam. Hell, we all did, as you’d have to be deaf not to, but I can’t help you with that. She’s Dane’s.”

I snorted and watched the flaming branch thoughtfully. “As if I cared. I have more important stuff to think about than getting into her pants, which…” I grinned widely. “…I already did.”

He flinched but decided to ignore my nasty comment. “Then why are you doing this?”

“You have no clue do you?” I laughed and he shook his head. “I had a little chat with your sweet Kate.”

“What?” His hands clenched into fists, but he let them slowly open as he saw the look in my eyes. “She’s not mine anymore, if she ever was, but what does she have to do with this?”

“Oh, everything.” I grabbed his brother by his hair and brought his head near the fire.

Alex grabbed my wrist but let it go quickly when he saw my tattoo. “Please,” he pleaded. “He’s my brother.”

I brought the torch closer and the smell of burning hair filled the air. I moved the flaming branch further away again. “I’m not
gonna hurt him.”

“You’re not?” he asked, stupefied.

I shook my head. “Nope. But you are, if I don’t get the right answers.”

He swallowed and I knew he thought I was insane. Maybe I was. I hadn’t exactly been very close to my own brother. And yet here I was embarking on my own little retaliation for a brother who couldn’t care less. You’re wrong, a tiny voice whispered in my mind. You’re the reason your brother became a hunter. Maybe, but I was also the reason he got killed. I shifted Rob’s slouching body into a better position by his hair.

Alex opened his mouth to protest but didn’t dare say anything. But as the silence stretched he finally gathered his courage and asked, “What do you want to know?”

“Let’s see. Well, for starters, what really happened the night Kate’s father died?”

Alex looked stunned. It was not the question he had expected and I saw him hesitating.

“Well?” I brought the fire closer to Rob’s head again.

“Nothing happened.” Alex lowered his gaze. “As far as I know he shot himself and now Kate’s mom blames her.”

I knew he was lying but I wanted to see where this would lead. “Why would Kate’s mom blame her? She wasn’t even there when it happened, was she?”

“No…” He hesitated. “But she did run away, which upset her father, so it was kind of her fault.”

“Uh-huh.” I looked at him scornfully. “Is that so?”

He nodded and I narrowed my eyes. He tried to hold my gaze but soon the coldness in me spread to him and made him shiver. I kicked his knee hard and he fell down, crying out.

“Why did you do that?” he asked, clutching his leg.

I knew I had broken his kneecap, but it wasn’t permanent. He would soon heal.

“I think you know why,” I snorted and he had the decency to look embarrassed. I played with the torch. “Now, what really happened? Did you kill him?”

He didn’t answer and my patience was running out. I pressed the torch onto his brother’s arm, and as unconscious as he was, he flinched and I knew it must’ve hurt like hell.

“Please,” Alex begged and tried to lean on his broken leg. He staggered and fell down.

“So did you?”

Horror filled Alex’s eyes but he still chose not to answer. I burned his brother again and this time he woke up screaming. I hit his head on the tree and he slumped. I burned him again and his sleeve caught fire. Alex crawled closer and tried to grab his brother from out of my hands. I kicked him on the shoulder and he flew to the ground, moaning.

“Did you?” I shouted and was ready to burn Rob alive.

“No!” Alex yelled and I moved the torch away from Rob. I didn’t bother to stop his sleeve burning, though, and it was only a matter of minutes before the fire would spread over him and kill him.

“For God’s sake, I wasn’t even there!” Alex shouted and tried to crawl to me again.

I let his brother fall and he was next to him in a flash. He used his jacket to put out the fire, and I let him. After all, he was more useful to me if he owed me one.

“But Kate was,” I stated and he nodded. “And Sam?” He nodded again. “And Dane and Jonathan?” He nodded once again. “Anyone else?”

He shook his head and I grinned, revealing my teeth. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and I put out the fire. “You see, it wasn’t hard at all, was it?”

He held his brother in his arms. The look on his face was murderous. I didn’t care. I’d got what I wanted. Nothing else mattered. “You don’t happen to know which one of the guys killed him do you?”

He shook his head and this time I believed him, so I turned my back on him but stopped and said, “You do know you owe me, right?”

He looked clueless.

“For saving your brother’s life.”

“Right.” He nodded, defeated, and I knew that after my little show with his brother I could count on him not to say a word about what had just happened.

I looked at them once more, nodded, pleased, and put my earphones on before starting to jog back to my hotel.

That night I went to the club. Not because I wanted to but because I needed to. Anger burned so strongly inside me that I had to get at least part of my frustration out. If not, well, I’d probably march into Dane’s house and try to kill both him and Jonathan. Not that I’d lose a good night’s sleep because of it
. But even though I had killed - some might say murdered - hundreds, I had never actually killed an innocent person and I wasn’t going to start now. So instead I sat on a bar stool and drank.

After I’d finished my fifth drink, Kate came over and sat next to me.

“Kate,” I greeted her dryly. I hadn’t actually expected her to talk to me anytime this century. Not after I’d admitted I had no intention of leaving Sam alone. And especially not after I’d almost killed Rob, although I had to assume Alex hadn’t blabbered about me, as Kate actually smiled at me. Not quite so friendly. But still.

“Lucas.” She bowed her head a little and ordered a drink for herself. “Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all.” I sighed and had another drink, too.

“Rough day?”

“You have no idea.” I gulped my glass empty.

She moved a bit closer and I felt her warm breath on my ear as she whispered softly, “Can we talk?”

I pushed her away gently. “I thought we were already doing that.”

She shook her head and got up. She started to walk away from me but stopped when I didn’t move. The smile on her face was hesitant. Obviously, she had expected me to follow and when I hadn’t she wasn’t sure what to do. “Lucas?”

I gritted my teeth. “Sure. Why not?”

She nodded towards the shadowy corner at the far side of the dance floor and I stood up. She took a couple of steps just to see if I’d follow. I did and she flashed a quick smile before hurrying on.

She chose an empty table and sat on the couch. I sat opposite her and looked at her expectantly. She chewed her lip and waved for the bartender. After she’d gotten her drink for courage I waited for her to tell me whatever was on her mind, but instead she got up again. I rolled my eyes. I was getting tired of her antics and if this was about Sam again, I had better things to do than sit there getting lectured. Like what, my conscience asked quietly, but I chose to ignore it.

“Dance with me,”
she spluttered and touched my shoulder lightly.

“I don’t think so.” I moved her hand away, but she was persistent.

“One dance. You’re not gonna die from it. I promise.” She put her arms around me and almost sat on my lap.

I pushed her harshly away. “I thought you wanted to talk.”

“I did and still do, but I don’t see why we can’t have a little fun while talking.”

“I don’t have time for fun,” I snarled.

She harrumphed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I think I’m done here.” I prepared to leave.

“Fine,” she snapped. “Want to know what I’ve been doing today?”

“Not really.” I gave her my best leave me alone look, but that didn’t discourage her.

Instead, she sat on the table and locked her eyes onto mine. “Hear me out anyway.” She held her breath and when I nodded lightly she let her shoulders relax, exhaling heavily. “Okay, just give me a minute. Okay, here goes, all or nothing. I sneaked into my old home.” She laughed nervously.

She had my full attention now and it was my turn to hold my breath. I stiffened and prepared myself for what was yet to come. My guess was it wouldn’t be anything good.

“Speechless? Well, after I stole some photo albums from there I was, too.” She puckered her lips and her eyes narrowed. “I can’t believe I was so stupid, but after I saw my dad’s picture when he was about my age, there was no mistaking it. We’re related.”

I didn’t say anything.

She laughed self-mockingly. “You know, you look exactly like him.” She looked at me as if she expected me to deny what she was saying.

I stayed quiet.

“You know, I dug out some other pictures, too. Of you and him. No wonder I didn’t get it at first, as your hair was much shorter then, but nope. No denying it. You’re my precious lost uncle. Cheers to that!” She emptied her glass in one gulp and thumped it onto the table.

If she thought I was shocked she thought wrong. I raised my glass slowly, smirking. “Cheers, little niece.”

A familiar giggle interrupted us. “Hi!” Sam yelled and rushed to hug Kate.

I smiled at her and she smiled back. And why wouldn’t she? We hadn’t talked after our night together, but as nothing had really
happened there were no regrets - well, not on my side at least - and I was actually glad she was there.

Sam sat next to Kate. “What’s happening, Katie-bean?”
             

Kate didn’t answer. She stared at me, and not so amiably I have to admit. I was ninety-nine per cent sure she would stay quiet. I raised my brow and challenged her.