Nevermore, the Complete Series (58 page)

“I hope so.” She smiled and patted me on the shoulder. “What is it you wanted to tell me?”

My eyes lingered on her for a moment before staring at the ground as I shifted my feet nervously. “Did Paul tell you that he was going to Florida?”

That caught her attention fast and she shook her head. “I had no idea. Why was he going there?”

“That’s where I was…and he found out,” I replied.

“Oh, no.
He didn’t do anything stupid did he?”

“No, he actually came and helped us…saved us…”

“Well, where is he? I need to go thank him for saving my only niece and give him a word or two about not telling me he was going!” she said, her eyes locked on me, making me more and more nervous.

“He didn’t…” I paused, feeling the tears coming as I pictured his fall over and over in my mind. “He didn’t come back with us.”

Kim’s face fell blank as she studied my expression. She noted the moisture in my eyes and gasped. “He stayed in Florida…? Or…what happened?”

“He…he fell. There was nothing we could have done to save him. It’s
all my fault. If…if I hadn’t been there he never would have come after us…”

Her arms were around me at once and I could hear the sound of her sobbing as she began to cry. We stood together crying for what felt like hours until she suddenly broke away and looked at me.

“You have no reason to blame yourself,” she said quietly, her voice hoarse. “First your foster mother died, then your real mother…and now Paul…”

“Karen, too…” I mumbled. “Am I cursed? Is everyone that I know and love going to be taken from me?”

She hugged me again and laughed lightly between tears. “You’re not cursed, Alex. People come and go from this world every day, that’s just a part of life. You’re not the only one losing loved ones.”

“I know,” I sighed. “It’s just…so many of them, one after the other. That’s not normal.”

“Nothing about your life is normal.”

“It used to be.”

“No, hun, it never was. This has been your life from day one; you just didn’t know it yet.”

“I guess,” I paused. “Aunt Kim…would you…would you tell grandpa for me? I just don’t think I can break any more bad news to anyone for a while…”

“I will. Now, let’s go back in and try to enjoy the rest of the evening. Paul would have wanted that,” she said as she smiled, another tear running down her cheek.

The next morning was hectic. Salem and I stayed the night at what I guessed was my home again, though we slept on the floor. Jason and Eila hadn’t packed up at all yet so it was one of only a few options. It at least beat sleeping in the car again.

Eila wanted me to go over ideas about the wedding with her practically as soon as I got out of bed. I could barely concentrate on the cereal I was preparing for myself, let alone think of my wedding plans. I felt guilty momentarily as it seemed she was more excited about the occasion than I was. It was just hard to get excited about anything right now.

I sat down at the glass dining table and forced away the thoughts from the last time I ate cereal at the same table. Eila sat across from me, picking at a bowl of berries and grinning up at me as she rambled on about some idea of hers that I didn’t quite catch.

“I’m sorry, Eila…what did you say?” I asked after swallowing a mouthful of cereal.

“I asked if you had a color theme in mind.”

“Oh…um…” I looked around the house for ideas and came up with nothing helpful. Then I spotted Salem across the room as he came downstairs. “Light blue…and purple,” I said as I admired his eyes. “And white too I guess, of course.”

Eila nodded as she jotted notes down on a pad of paper I hadn’t noticed before. “What about bridesmaids and the best man?”

Salem took a seat at the table and glanced at the list. “I am going to ask Jason to be my best man,” he replied.

“Really?” I asked with a look of surprise. “He’ll be so honored.”

I watched the swift hand of Jason’s girlfriend as she wrote even more on the paper.

“You and my aunt can be bridesmaids, Eila…after all, I don’t really know anyone else,” I said with a frown as I thought about Karen. “Actually, there’s one other person…Hannah, if she shows up…”

“And cake flavors?”

“I loved the cake you made for my birthday – so that would be perfect, or just go with your gut on what you think would be good.”

“All right,” she said with a smile. “And flowers?”

“White carnations and chamomile,” Salem answered and smiled at me.

“I hope you don’t mind, I didn’t mean to just butt in and sign myself up as your wedding planner.”

“No! It’s great!” I said after finishing my cereal. “I would be hopeless without you, really.”

“Phew, I thought maybe I was getting annoying but it is just so exciting, and hey you can do ours soon, right!? Now what about music, I mean I used to play the piano
some but I don’t know. You probably want someone better at it than me. Have anyone in mind?”

I stared across the table at her thoughtfully. “I would be honored if you could play the piano at the wedding.”

“Really? Absolutely!” she grinned. “It would be my pleasure. Did you have anything specific in mind?”

I thought about Nevermore and wondered how hard it would be to teach it to another person. I knew she played the flute but wasn’t sure how easily musical ability translated from one instrument to the next. It shouldn’t be too hard, I hoped. “Aside from the traditional wedding march, there is one song that I have in mind. It’s the one I played at school the day I met Salem…but it might take some time to learn it.”

“It shouldn’t be too hard,” she said confidently.

“I can start teaching you later if you want.”

Our attention was caught by movement coming downstairs – Jason was finally awake. He looked groggy and his hair was tousled and I noticed immediately he was wearing nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants. I quickly looked away, although I had seen him shirtless countless times throughout our friendship. 

“You’re up late,” Eila commented.

“I didn’t sleep very well,” Jason grumbled and walked to the fridge and grabbed a carton of orange juice and began pouring some into a glass. “What time is it?”

“Almost noon,” Salem replied. “When you are dressed and fed, there is something I would like to discuss with you.”

Jason nearly choked on the orange juice he had just swallowed at Salem’s words. He was no doubt worried that he somehow knew about last night. “Oh, okay,” he spluttered and coughed. “Is something wrong?”

“Not at all,” Salem replied calmly and summoned a plate stacked with blueberry pancakes and a bottle of syrup.

Eila gasped and jumped up from her seat. “What the hell just happened?!”

“I completely forgot that Eila was not aware…” he said ashamedly. “I apologize, Eila. Do not be alarmed – but there is something about me that you may not realize.”

“What’s going on?” she asked and backed up against the kitchen wall. “Jason?”

“Salem has magical powers,” Jason shrugged and sat down to eat some pancakes. “You’ll get used to it.”

“Magical powers?! Okay, smartass, I’m serious. How’d you do that? Just a magic trick, right?”

“No, no trick or sleight of hand. My bloodline comes from that of witches. Of course I doubt I would have ever discovered the power without becoming a vampire.”

“A vampire?! Okay, I know you’re all full of it now. Ha-ha, we played a joke on Eila. I didn’t know I was annoying everyone about the wedding that much. Why didn’t you just say so?”

“That’s not it. He’s serious,” Jason said, still seeming slightly numb to the situation.

“Okay, if this is for real then why wouldn’t you have told me before then? I’m pretty sure you are full of crap. You couldn’t keep something like that from me if it were real.”

“It wasn’t my place to tell you.”

“I should have warned you, Eila. I truly am sorry. But, it is nothing to be worried about,” Salem said with a gentle smile.

“Okay so you can just…summon things out of thin air? And I am supposed to be
believe that?”

“Pretty much,” I said and laughed. “I was confused and scared at first, too…but it’s nothing to be afraid of. Like he said, it’s in his genes.”

I stared up at Salem and wondered if our child would inherit that ability. Would that be how the boy destroyed the world? By possessing some sort of magical ability? I felt sick to my stomach at the thought.

“Prove it.”

“Why is it that every time someone discovers this ability I have to show them first hand? Ah, very well…what would you have me summon?”

“A million dollars.”

“It doesn’t work that way.”

“Why not?
Go on, summon it.”

“I do not know why not, I’ve never really thought about it after it not working in the past. Now go on, something realistic.
Something small.”

“Earrings.
Good ones. With a pink gem in them.”

“Very well.”
Salem’s eyes sparkled and the earrings appeared in his hands. Eila ran over to him and started pushing his long sleeves up, still believing it was some sort of trick.

“You just got lucky, how about…shoes. Heels!
Blue ones.”

Salem looked more than a little annoyed but obliged. With another sparkle of purple the heels appeared on the floor. I noticed that he was beginning to look out of breath; the power was taxing him again.

“That’s enough,” I butted in before she could ask him to create a whole new wardrobe for her. “I think that is proof enough. Now do you believe us?”

“I…I don’t know. It’s weird. It still just doesn’t feel real.”

As we all sat down to eat, Eila continued to ask us all more and more questions. How much of it she believed I didn’t know, but I had never seen her talk so much in all the times we met before combined. Salem and Jason both gobbled down four pancakes each and Eila had two, which she ate slowly as she watched Salem’s every move and asked more questions. Mitchell was asleep still, and Ezra was out exploring the town.

“Is there a date in mind for the wedding, Alex?” Eila asked suddenly, turning her attention from Salem to me.

I looked at Salem and he shrugged. “I hadn’t really thought about it yet, with everything else on my mind. Did you have anything in mind, Salem?”

“As soon as possible?” he suggested with a sly grin.

“Let me call Richard and see when he is available,” I replied.

“You should call Desmond, too…”

I grimaced. “Do I have to?”

“He would be happy to attend the ceremony, and in the end you will be thankful.”

“I guess…” I said glumly and left the room with my phone in hand.

Richard didn’t answer right away so I hung up after ten or so rings and reluctantly dialed my foster father’s number. With each ring I grew ever more anxious and unprepared. Chances were he wouldn’t even be able to make it because he would be off on another adventure on the wrong side of the world.

“Hello?” the sound of his voice nearly made me jump as I had begun absentmindedly counting tiles on the ceiling of the master bedroom.

“Hey Des…Dad…
it’s Alex.”

“I’m so glad you called! How are you?”

“I’m…okay. A lot of things have happened recently, most of which were bad.”

“What happened?” he asked sympathetically and I heard him mumble ‘Excuse me’ to someone. He must have been with company when I called.

“First, my best friend Karen…you remember her, right?”

“Of course I remember her, Alexis.”

“Okay…well,” it still hurt to say it aloud, “she was in a car accident, and she didn’t survive,” I said and blinked back the tears. I was beginning to wish I was unable to cry again, despite having wanted to when I was a vampire.

“I am so sorry to hear that, darling,” he said. He sounded legitimately upset and concerned, but it was hard to tell with him.

“Then…Paul passed away while…out exploring a cave in Florida,” I explained, attempting to keep my voice from cracking. “I just found out…and I’m handling it okay, but…you’re the only parent I have left now.”

“Do you need me to come to Colorado? I can drop everything and be there as early as tomorrow evening if you need me,” he spoke sincerely and I felt a sudden desire to have him with me despite everything he had put me through.

“Actually, that’s something I wanted to talk to you about. It’s not ideal to do this after so many tragic things have happened, but…Salem and I are getting married. And before you say we are too young, just trust me when I say we are more than ready for this. I want you to…” I paused for a moment, “I want you to walk me down the aisle.”

I could hear the happiness in his voice, “I would be honored, Alexis. Can Melissa join me?”

“Of course, she can even be one of my bridesmaids if she wants…we are short…”

“I am sure she would love that,” he replied. “Let me make arrangements with her and we will be there as soon as we can. I am so sorry for everything you have been through lately, but at the same time I am very excited for you and Salem.”

“Thanks…dad. I have someone else that I need to call, but let me know what you figure out when you can, or just surprise me,” I laughed.

“I’ll give you a call when everything is settled,” he laughed in return. “Take care, dear.”

“You, too,” I said and hung up.

Dialing Richard’s number and not getting an answer was beginning to irritate me, though I wasn’t sure why. Finally, he picked up the third time I tried calling.

“Hey, Grandpa,” I said quietly. “Has Aunt Kim come by?”

“Yeah…she told me about your father,” he replied sadly. “I can’t believe it. He spent so many years avoiding me, and when we finally got back in touch…I lost him forever.”

“I know how you feel. For the longest time, he was an uncle to me…and only a year ago I found out who he truly was, and now I have no father again.” I could feel the tears slipping down my cheek again and bit my lip, wishing I could stop the flow. Maybe being alive and feeling all this pain had been a mistake after all.

“I’m so sorry, Alex. I’m glad you made it safe, though.”

“Thanks, Grandpa,” I smiled despite my tears. “There was something else I needed to ask you.”

“Anything you need, kid.”

My heart sunk when he referred to me by Paul’s ‘nickname’ for me. “Salem and I are going to get married…and, we want you to be there.”

“Married?! You two are so young-,” he paused and sighed. “Well, I suppose you aren’t. At least, he isn’t.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah. I know it might seem like we’re too young and unprepared for this, but we really aren’t. Will you be there?”

“Of course, when is it?”

“Salem says as soon as possible, so whenever you’re available I guess…”

“How’s this upcoming Sunday?”

“What’s today?” I laughed and realized I had hardly been paying attention to the days.

“It’s Wednesday.
And happy late birthday, by the way.”

“Thanks, and that should work. I’ll let everyone know…and I’ll give you more information on where to meet us as soon as I know.”

“Sounds like a deal. Now, go have fun making your plans. I’m proud of you,” he said, trying to sound cheerful – though I knew he was hurting as well.