Malevolence - Legacy Series Book Two (The Legacy Series) (20 page)

           
Abel and Oakley appeared out of nowhere as we walked up to the doors of the museum.
 
I took a deep breath before entering, praying we weren’t walking into a vampire infested trap.
 
The door chimed as we entered and the petite girl again asked us to pull the door closed behind us.
 
She looked exactly the same as she did the first time we met, minus she traded out her red scarf for a festive lime green one.

           
“We have an appointment at three,” I said.

           
She opened up the giant book, scanning through it as if it was full of text, her finger stopped at the only entry on the page.
 
“See, we followed the rules, and made an appointment,” I said as I flashed her a sarcastic smile.

           
“
Ummmm
, why yes you did.
 
It is only two forty; I take my break at this time.
 
You can have a seat at one of the benches over there,” she said pointing to two benches that lined the wall by the entrance.
 
“If you’d like some coffee, there is a vendor two blocks down.
 
I encourage you not to be late though.”

           
“We’re fine.
 
We’ll sit at the benches,” I said sarcastically.
 

           
“Pru, don’t let her get to you.
 
She is trying to get your goat and you are letting her.
 
Ignore her.
 
If she is our guide, you need to keep your sarcasm on the down low.
 
It’s okay baby, relax.”
Oakley thought to me.

           
Looking up to see his eyes, I remembered the first time I noticed how pretty his eyes were.
 
I must have been ten and mom thought it would be fun to go to the science museum.
 
We all loaded up into her mini-van and headed to Oklahoma City.
 
I’d never noticed a boy as a boy to like; I thought we were all alike.
 
Until that day.
 
We had climbed up a tower together and I was showing off or something, when I leaned too far over the edge.
 
I lost my footing and started to fall.
 
In a split second, Oakley had grabbed my hand as I dangled over the edge.
 
Looking down, and then up, I made eye contact with him.
 
His eyes bore into mine and he told me to give him my other hand.
 
I would have done anything he asked of me in that moment.
 
He grasped my hand and pulled me up, without thinking I threw my arms around him to thank him.
 
I was shaking all over and fighting back tears of relief, but something else happened too.
 
I looked into his soul and I saw myself reflected back.
 
I knew in that very moment that I’d be his forever and ever.
 
He whispered into my ear that I’d be okay, and I knew I would.
 

           
Looking at him today reassured me that he would always be there for me.
 
Who was I to doubt him when my father died?
 
That first month on the road was horrible.
 
Not only had I lost my dad, but I had doubts about Oakley’s ability to protect me.
 
He was the best of the best, how on earth could my father be pierced by an arrow without Oakley seeing anything.
 
It wasn’t impossible, but he was so alert about everything.
 
Of course he wouldn’t want my father to die.
 
He loved my dad as his own.
 
I was mad at everyone; I should have been the one with him.
 
He would still be alive if I’d been there.
 
I would have taken the arrow for him and he’d still be the alpha and alive.
 

           
“
Earth to Pru, come in.”
 
Abel thought to me.

           
“
Hey, sorry; I was just thinking.
 
You know me and thinking, it takes a lot of mental powers to stay focused.”
 
I smiled at him and said,
“you okay?
 
It is a little nerve racking sitting here and waiting.
 
I hope we find that antidote.”

           
“Me too.
 
I have on two cameras and Oakley has one.
 
I thought it would be good to have a secret one, in case they wouldn’t allow us to photograph.
 
Your mom looks tense, is she okay?”

           
“Yeah she’s fine.
 
Well, as fine as one can be, knowing they have a hit on them.”

           
We all heard a noise coming from behind the wall, a creaking of the floorboards and heavy footsteps.
 
Anxiously we all sat positively still, anticipating a vampire to walk through the door next to where we sat.
 
The double door that I assumed led into the area with the vampire artifacts rattled as someone on the other side unlocked it.
 
The man that appeared was no other than the faerie that gave me the card.
 
It was obvious he recognized Gus and me.

           
“Hello, welcome to the Paris Vampire Museum, my name is Earl and I will be your guide today.
 
I ask that you turn off your cell phones and your preconceptions of vampires.”
 
He laughed a joyful kind of chuckle.

           
I whispered to him “what are you doing here?”

           
He shrugged his shoulders and said “I work here.”
 
He gave me the eye as if telling me to shut up.
 
He reeked of vanilla and then I remembered that was what he used to mask himself from the vampires.

           
“Hurry along everyone, I don’t have all day.
 
Chop, chop….. I don’t like a lot of lollygagging.”
 
He clapped his hands to us and we all stood to follow the awkward little man.

           
The room’s
dank
and dreary décor with the smell of mildew made my stomach lurch a little.
 
It was like a dungeon with the heavy stone walls and old cabin-like tables littered with memorabilia and little description cards.
 
I recognized the old fashioned stake box, velvet lined; the stake was carved out of cow bones.
 
The Indians would bless it with Indian magic to kill the Vampire with the first blow.
 
In the old days it was easy to find Indians that would help the white man.
 
Up until they were betrayed and lied to by the government one too many times.
 
Their land became scarce and their numbers dwindled.
 
They no longer gave the stakes out; they told the white man to figure it out themselves.
 
That was when it was learned that we could make our own stake, but instead of magic to kill the vampire, the item would have to go through the heart.
 
If the vampire didn’t disintegrate into ash and become one with the earth again, it was imperative to decapitate them.

           
I took in everything; I could actually feel the pain of the person that wielded the stake.
 
I could sense the despair and tears.
 
Looking over at Abel, knowing he was empathic, I wondered if he could feel it too.
 
From the look on his face, I knew he too felt the heaviness.
 
I wanted to run out and never return.
 
I touched one of the stakes and shrieked as I removed my hand quickly.
 
I could see the faces of victims that the vampire had claimed as theirs and heard their pleas.
 
I could feel the anger of the hunter as he staked the vampire.
 
I sensed that several people were staked that weren’t infected with the
Vampiric
Human Virus (HVV), they had lived amongst the vampires for so long it was believed they were one too.
 
The grief and blood was everywhere.
 
Oakley slid his arm around me so I could feel his love for me palpitate through him.
 
He could tell that I was fading into the darkness.
 

           
“
Pru, breath through it.
 
You can overcome this, stay focused as to why we are here.”
 
Oakley thought to me.
 
He gave me a little squeeze and I felt myself coming out of the trepidation.
 
Abel’s face had cleared from the crinkled up look of disgust.
 
He must have been able to overcome the feelings.
 
His strength was growing by leaps and bounds.

 
Chapter 23. Pack

“The she-wolf crept into the stable.” Gossip Wolf and the Fox ~ Grimm’s Household Tales

ABEL

           
I sat on the bench waiting for the three o’clock appointment.
 
Recently I learned that I could tune people out, or I could tune in to their essence.
 
As a pack, we could hear one another think thoughts to us.
 
As alpha, I chose when someone could talk to me.
 
I didn’t typically tune everyone out, not unless I felt it appropriate.

           
Dolly sat next to me, her hands balled up into fists, her breathing even and controlled.
 
I tapped into her without her knowing I was there.
 
Guilt plagued me when I did it, like walking into someone’s bedroom without their permission.
 
I never told anyone that I could do it; I thought it would make them nervous.
 
Something deep inside of me told me it should stay a secret.
 
It was as if I was afraid if they were captured and tortured they would be forced to share my secrets.
 

           
I heard the footsteps on the other side of the wall.
 
I tried to tune into the person approaching but only got scrambled messages.
 
They weren’t human but they weren’t a vampire either.
 
I stood and straightened out my jacket, double checking my pockets for my gloves.
 
The stake in my waistband felt strange as it scratched my back.
 
Stand straight, don’t hunch over, shoulders back, and never avert your eyes.
 
I could still hear the General’s voice in my head repeating those words over and over.

           
The door opened and I was overwhelmed with the smell of vanilla.
 
The antsy little man said his name was Earl.
 
Pru thought to me that the guy was the faerie that gave her the card saying Dolly was at risk.
 
I remembered her telling me that vanilla hid their scent from the vampires.
 
I didn’t know what it did for his size though.
 
He couldn’t have been five feet tall with heels on.
 
He didn’t even look like a human, more like an elf, a
Keebler
elf to be exact.
 
All he needed was a tree and some cookies and he’d be on his way to stardom.
 
I stifled a laugh at my visual.
 

           
I wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming sense of dread that emitted from the room.
 
I made the mistake of touching one of the books that wasn’t behind glass.
 
I could feel someone frantically searching through the book.
 
They were looking for something, but I couldn’t pick up what it was.
 
It felt like a man, and he was injured but not a life threatening injury.
 
His heart was pounding as if he had run a marathon.
 
He was upset, possibly even crying.
 
His anger was fueled by his grief.
 
I had to turn off the feelings, it was one of the easiest things I had learned to do as a wolf.
 
Pru had said it would be difficult to turn it off once it started, but I didn’t seem to have problems with it.