Secret Worlds (447 page)

This new ability was exhausting at first, but with the help of Dr. Skinner, I learned to magnify it, giving me the ability to call upon it at will. I was especially excited to use this gift to help the children at the Academy who couldn’t communicate, but to my surprise, it was useless. They had no worldly sorrows or heavy burdens despite their obvious physical afflictions.

Unfortunately, the people outside the school were not like the special children. They did have heartache, and I couldn’t find enough hours in the day to help them all. I spent what time I could walking the streets, searching for those whom I might help, much to the dismay of my two bodyguards who kept a mild interest in what I was doing.

It was during this time I decided to return to Lucien. Feeling other’s pain and burdens weighed me down, and I desperately needed the peace and comfort his presence gave me, but this time I stayed at a distance, afraid I might upset him again.

Lucien led a simple, predictable life. Most of his days were spent by the marina. Something about the water seemed to soothe him. When he was away from the sea, he appeared more tense and agitated. He fed very little, but when he did, it was as if he had researched his victims first and knew exactly where they would be. Because I spent only small moments with him, I was never able to find out how he chose his victims. The only thing they all had in common was some kind of bag or briefcase that he always disposed of with their body.

There was no joy in Lucien’s life. Even feeding seemed to cause him pain, yet he didn’t stop. I longed to remove his suffering, wanting desperately to help him feel the same peace he gave me. As the days passed, I found it harder and harder to stay away. It was only a matter of time before I knew I’d have to move to Seattle. I worried how I was going to tell Charlie, who had become my closest friend.

Charlie was gone for a full ten days. He’d called once while he was away, telling me that his men found nothing out of the ordinary with my grandfather, who had fallen ill almost a year ago. Anne still lived with him and apparently she rarely left the house. As for Liane, two years ago she disappeared, and it was like she didn’t exist anymore. I wasn’t sure how worried I should be about this. Liane may have ratted me out to my parents, but I don’t think she would actually cause me physical harm. But then again, dark magic is extremely alluring. Who knew what she was really capable of?

When Charlie did return, he knocked on my door at almost two in the morning.

“Don’t you sleep?” he asked when I opened the door. His right cheek was scabbed over, and his eye was circled with shades of purple and blue.

I opened the door wide to let him in. “What happened to you?”

“You can’t go anywhere with Michael and not expect a fight.” He moved into the living room and dropped onto my couch. “Am I disturbing you?”

I joined him on the sofa. “Not at all. Did you just get back?”

“An hour ago. I wasn’t going to bother you, but I had a feeling you were awake.”

“Do you want something to eat?”

“No. I won’t be staying long. I just wanted to tell you what I discovered.”

I waited quietly for him to continue.

“It’s as I feared. The Dark Prince is recruiting on a large scale, but not just recruiting. He’s creating new vampires at an alarming rate. We took care of one of their cells in London, but there were at least three others.” He took a breath. “We’re asking everyone at all the Deific offices around the world to spare all their fighters.”

“I’ll help,” I said without hesitating. “Whatever you need.”

“If we weren’t desperate, I’d say no. It’s still so soon for you.”

I was about to say more when there was another knock at the door. Charlie jumped to his feet. “Are you expecting anyone?”

My pulse raced. “No.”

Charlie’s pinched face relaxed and he smiled. “It’s Henry.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

Charlie walked to the door and opened it. Henry stood in the doorway, his expression serious.

“I apologize for the late hour,” he said, looking first at Charlie, “but I knew you were here talking to Eve about what you learned in Ireland, and I’d like to be in on the conversation.”

Charlie motioned him inside. “I don’t know how you do it. I’m the psychic one, yet you always seem to know what’s going on.”

“You look a bit beat up,” Henry said to Charlie. “Had you waited, I could’ve helped.”

“We did just fine,” Charlie said, closing the door behind Henry. “Besides, I know you have your hands full with the other Deific offices.”

“What’s going on with them?” I asked, shifting my position to be more upright on the couch. It was strange having Henry in my home. Not in a bad way, but his presence was so powerful and commanding that I felt my house should be cleaner or more formal.
Something.

“You can relax, Eve,” Henry said. He lowered himself into a chair opposite of me so we were at eye level. That helped. A little.

“A few of the Deific offices that were attacked a couple of weeks ago had high casualties,” he continued. “Their morale is low, and it’s been difficult not only finding replacements, but getting the current ones to stay. Out of all the Deific offices that were attacked, yours had the least casualties. It was also back up quickly and running smoothly.”

I glanced at Charlie wondering where Henry was going with all of this.

“The real reason I’ve come is,” Henry said, looking at Charlie. “I want you to do what you’ve done here, but in our Seattle office.”

My head jerked toward Henry. This was my opportunity. I could feel it. Henry glanced over at me as if he sensed my excitement, but he didn’t say anything.

“I want you to heal that office, Charlie. They need you.”

Charlie was shaking his head. “I can’t leave. Not now. There’s way too much happening. I need to be in the field.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Henry said. “I’ll take care of it.”

“But I’m no healer. I can barely manage myself.”

“You do a fine job, and I don’t mean a healer in the literal sense. Your energy and leadership will give life to those still working.”

Charlie narrowed his eyes. “You could’ve asked this over the phone, and when it wasn’t the middle of the night. Why are you really here?”

Henry leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful. His gaze slowly turned to me. “I want Eve to go, too.”

I inhaled a quick intake of breath.

“Not only will she be able to use her new ability to help those who are suffering, but she’ll also be able to find someone she’s been looking for.”

Charlie snorted. “The vampire, Lucien? Is he really worth both Eve and I leaving New York? That seems like a waste of time, when we should really be out helping Alana and Michael.”

“Lucien
is
important. He is more valuable than anyone knows, and the Deific needs him. This just cements why I need you two in Seattle. Eve is the only person who can bring him in, but I need you, Charlie, to make sure she’s safe doing it. There’s a war coming, and without Lucien, we don’t stand a chance.”

The move to Seattle was harder than I thought it would be. Mostly because I had to say goodbye to Sarah and the children at the Academy. I promised to come and visit, and Sarah promised to come visit me. It was just temporary, she’d said. I wasn’t so sure.

Both Charlie and I had little to move so the transition went quick. What did take a while, however, was finding a home of my own. Charlie tried to convince me to stay in the same apartments as him, but I felt strongly that I needed to be on my own. Eventually, I found a two-story home in a nice neighborhood within two miles of the Deific office.

The office itself was a miniature replica of the New York office. Standing three stories high, it was tucked between two much taller buildings. There was nothing architecturally pleasing about it. It was such a plain square building that one could easily walk right by it without ever noticing it.

The employees were as Henry described: broken and full of despair on behalf of their friends and coworkers whose lives had been lost. Charlie was wonderful with them. His humor and gentle nature did as Henry expected. Within two weeks, the mood had lightened dramatically.

Finding Lucien proved harder than I anticipated. I recognized a few landmarks from my dreams, but whenever I visited them, he was never there. I was anxious to find him as Henry’s words had frightened me, and I didn’t want to waste any more time. Charlie hadn’t been much help. He’d been so focused with helping the people in the office that he hadn’t brought up Lucien’s name, but I couldn’t do this alone anymore.

“Charlie,” I said in his office after a staff meeting, “I need some help.”

He looked up from an open folder in his hands. “This is a first. How may I be of service?”

“It’s time we found Lucien. I’ve tried finding him myself using landmarks from my dreams, but it hasn’t helped. I was wondering if you would use your ability.”

Charlie pushed the folder away and sighed. “I know it seems like I have forgotten the task Henry gave us, but I haven’t. Lucien has been on my mind a lot.”

“Then why haven’t you said anything?”

He averted his eyes. “I don’t think it’s time yet. I have a bad feeling about Lucien. He’s nowhere near ready, and I don’t want you risking your life.”

“But you heard what Henry said! The Deific needs him. You know that for every second we waste, The Dark Prince only grows stronger. I thought you wanted to finish him!”

Charlie jumped to his feet and pointed his finger at me. “Do you think I like being here, especially knowing my friends are out there fighting? I should be out there with them, destroying the bastard who killed my wife! Instead I’ve been sent here to find a vampire who could possibly kill you. Forgive me if I’m a little hesitant!”

I was too stunned to respond right away. I’d never considered how hard this might be for him. “I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry.”

Charlie dropped back into the chair and inhaled deeply. “No, I’m sorry. There’s so much going on up here—” He tapped his head. “—that sometimes I snap. I shouldn’t speak to you like that. And you’re right. We do need to find Lucien, but we must proceed with caution, do you understand?”

I nodded.

“Do you still have that picture of him?”

I reached into my back pocket and removed a folded piece of paper. Charlie took it and smoothed it out. “Come see me after work. I should have something then. Oh, and would you meet with a couple of employees? I’m not sure how to help them.”

“Of course,” I said. “And Charlie?” His gaze met mine. “Thank you.”

During the next couple of hours, I spoke with two women. They had been close friends with a couple of the deceased, and they couldn’t understand why their friend had to die. They believed in the Deific and what it stood for, but thought it should’ve been better protected or at least have been given a warning about the attack. My senses told me that these women weren’t necessarily looking for changes. They simply needed to talk about what happened, and maybe through that they could understand better what happened.

“How about we start a support group?” I offered. “We could meet every Wednesday night to discuss what happened, how we can prevent it in the future, and more importantly talk about the ones we miss.”

“That’s a wonderful idea!” Susanne, the older woman, said. “I’ll post an announcement today.”

A few hours later, I returned to Charlie. He looked agitated and shook his head at me before I had the chance to speak. He stood up and pulled his coat on. “I’m sorry, but it’s too soon. Lucien is too dangerous.”

“What do you mean?”

“The more I looked at his picture, the more I felt how dangerous he is. He’s done something horrible, and I don’t want you to have anything to do with him. Not yet.”

“I don’t care what he’s done in the past,” I said.

“You should.”

In a softer voice, I said, “Charlie, I’ve seen him do good things. There is hope for him. Besides, you’ve seen our future. You know what he’s capable of!”

“That’s in the future. He needs more time.”

I steeled my voice and stared Charlie straight in the eyes. “I need to know where he is now, but I promise to keep a distance until I know it’s safe.”

Charlie huffed and pursed his lips together. “Fine. Come with me. I think I know where he is, or at least the general vicinity.”

Thirty minutes later, Charlie parked at the same marina where I’d seen Lucien before. He got out of the car and tucked his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. A sharp wind twisted his curly hair. He attempted to smooth it back, but it was futile. He turned and gave me a forced smile.

I watched him walk away, grateful for our friendship. In another lifetime, I might’ve actually liked him more than a friend. He was strong, loyal, kind—my lingering gaze stopped when I found the dock where I first saw Lucien standing. My heart stopped beating.
Lucien
. My longing to be with him made my heart ache and my body go numb. But I felt something else tug at my senses, a new feeling. It was an urgency of some kind. Something was wrong.

The car door opened and Charlie jumped in, bringing with him a strong gust of wind. “That wind cuts through you sharper than my Uncle Jack chews through a thanksgiving turkey.”

“Did you sense anything?”

He turned to me. “Did you know my uncle actually sharpens his dentures before thanksgiving?’

“Charlie, please,”

He let out a long, drawn out sigh. “He’s not here.”

“I could’ve told you that,” I said.

“It wasn’t a complete waste. I sense that Valium Vampire will be here in a couple of hours.”

“Who?”

“Forget it. Let’s get something to eat and then we’ll come back.” He started the car and drove from the parking lot.

“Do you feel anything else?” I asked.

He frowned. “Like what?”

“Like something’s about to happen. And it involves Lucien.”

“I don’t. What are you picking up?” Charlie asked.

I shrugged and looked out the window. “Maybe it’s nothing.”

A couple of blocks away, Charlie and I sat in a small cafe next to a wide window. The light spilled in and reflected off a freshly wiped table. Charlie did most of the talking, speaking mostly of the Deific employees. I tried to follow along, but I couldn’t get Lucien out of my mind.