Tegan's Power (The Ultimate Power Series #4) (13 page)

“If that’s what you want,”
I say with a shrug.

Twenty minutes later I pull
up outside of my house.

In the end it’s only me
and Allora staying at my place because Ira silently takes Delilah up on her
offer. I don’t blame the fella. The red head dhamphir is hot and he’s had one
hell of a dry spell that far outweighs my own. I’m not sure if it’s a love
match between these two, but it’s certainly a sex match.

I unpack all the
weapons and ammo from the van and haul it inside the house. Allora asks if she
can help but I tell her no. I have this thing where I don’t like making women
do men’s work. Plus, I have an urge to treat her like she’s fragile because of
the whole being blind thing.

I’ve just unloaded the
last box and shoved it under the stairs when I notice her hovering by the kitchen
door.

“Can I make you some
tea?” she asks fidgeting. She looks like she’s feeling kind of useless and
wants something to do. “I’ve been getting used to the layout of your kitchen,
so I think I know where everything is now.”

She can hear the smile
in my voice when I answer, “Sure, tea would be great. I’m going to put my feet
up in the living room for a while.”

“I’ll bring it in to
you, then,” she says and turns back into the kitchen, her hand sliding along
the wall as she feels her way about.

I turn on the
television and flick through the stations, listening to her potter with the
kettle and cups. I can’t help waiting to hear something shatter as she drops
it, but that doesn’t happen. A few minutes later she enters the room holding a
steaming mug in her hand and wearing a triumphant expression. Something in my
chest stirs at seeing her so proud of making a simple cup of tea.

“Where are you?” she
asks.

“Over here,” I say and
she follows the sound of my voice. When she’s standing before me I take the mug
from her hand and sip.

“Ah, powerful cup of
tea, Goldy. Thanks.”

She tugs on the hem of
her T-shirt and bites her full bottom lip. “Why do you call me that?”

“Goldy?” I question and
she nods. “It’s because of your eyes.”

She wrinkles her nose.
“They’re hazel.”

“They’re gold,” I
disagree. “And they’re fucking gorgeous.”

She blushes and hurries
back out to the kitchen. I chuckle. A minute later she comes inside with her
own cup and takes a seat beside me on the couch. We drink in silence for a bit
with a soap opera playing on the television.

“How old are you?” I
ask her because I have absolutely no interest in soaps.

“Twenty-one,” she
pauses and sips. “I was nineteen when Ridley took me.”

Just a baby, I think to
myself. I’m practically a decade older than her. Given the amount of time I’ve
spent looking at her chest (and arse), I feel like a bit of a dirty old bastard
right now.

“Were you still at
school?”

“My first year of
college. I was studying for a degree in science.”

“Science. Little
brainiac, are ya?” I tease, nudging her with my elbow while she shakes her head
bashfully.

It’s funny I should
accuse her of being a brainiac, because I’m kind of one myself. You wouldn’t
think it to look at me, but I got a degree in computer technology when I was a
nipper. That was before I even knew about the existence of vampires and in my
mind the world was still a bright place full of endless possibilities.

When I got recruited
into the DOH, they asked me about my skill set and continued to train me in
computers for years. I can hack the shit out of anything nowadays.

“I like practical
subjects,” says Allora. “I much prefer experiments over written work.”

“I get that.”

Taking another gulp of
my tea, I study her for a moment. “Listen, everything’s kind of been a crazy
rush this last day or two and we haven’t really had the chance to talk. Is
there anything you need? Anything that will make staying here more comfortable
for you? Name it and I’ll do my best to get it. I want you to feel at home.”

“I can’t believe you’re
helping me like this,” she says in disbelief and gratitude. “You hardly know
me.”

“What can I say, I like
to prove the saying about relying on the kindness of strangers to be true. I
can also see that you’ve been through a really tough time of it and you deserve
to be protected. Given that the barrier is in place, Michael Ridley must still
be in the city somewhere and he could decide to come after you again. I want to
make sure you have someone looking out for you if that happens.”

“You’ve got a kind
heart, Finn,” she tells me and I think I hear a catch in her throat.

“That’s me alright,” I
say with a laugh. “Finn Roe: Kind-hearted vampire slayer. So, I repeat, is
there anything you need?”

Without thinking I
reach over and put my hand softly on her shoulder.

“Um, I could use some
toiletries, I guess. Shampoo and body wash, the girly kind.”

“Girly shampoo and body
wash, done and done,” I tell her smiling. “What else?”

“That’s all,” she
answers sheepishly.

“Low maintenance. I
like it.”

We fall into a
comfortable silence and finish our tea.

“Finn,” says Allora.

“Yeah?”

“Can you describe what
everyone looks like for me? I want to be able to picture you all in my head.”

I grin. “Sure. Delilah’s
petite, face like a china doll, pale skin and curly red hair. Ira’s tall, built
like a brick shithouse, dark colouring. Gabriel’s got short brown hair and
bright green eyes, and Alvie’s thin as a rake, brown eyes, black hair, wears a
lot of Goth clothes.” I pause and watch her as she absorbs it all. “And then
you have me, handsomest motherfucker you’ll ever come across,” I joke.

She laughs. “Be
serious!”

“Okay, okay. My eyes
are blue, hair’s light brown. That’s about the size of it.”

“Stand up for a
minute.”

Curious, I do as she
requests and she follows suit, reaching up to place her hands on my shoulders.
I stand at least a foot higher than her. “Hmm, you’re tall,” she says as her
hands drift from my shoulders down my arms and then across my chest. “And
you’re lean.” Now her hands drift up to my face. Her fingers are soft as feathers
as they tenderly search my features. “I think you weren’t lying either when you
said you were handsome.”

Jesus, I have to
concentrate to keep my dick under control, my breathing coming out all fast and
shit. I really,
really
like it when she puts her hands on me.

“Keep touching me like
that and I might have to kiss you.”

The words tumble out of
my mouth before I can stop them and her hands freeze on my face. A quick breath
gushes from her and her cheeks turn a bright shade of red.

“I’m sorry,” she apologises
and moves away from me to sit back down on the sofa.

“Why? Those were the
best thirty seconds I’ve had all week.”

A grin curves the ends
of her lips as she stares at the floor. “I think you might be a charmer, too,
Finn Roe.”

Later that day there’s a knock at the
door. I go to answer it, thinking it’ll be Gabriel, but it’s not. I’m greeted
by Tegan standing on my doorstep, hand in hand with Cristescu and Rebecca by
her side.

“Hey, come on in,” I
say gesturing into the house.

Allora’s been resting
in her room so I climb the stairs to get her. I know she can’t exactly see
Rebecca to confirm whether or not she’s the girl from her vision, but maybe
she’ll, I don’t know, sense something. I rap my knuckles on her door.

“Yes?” she calls.

“It’s Finn. Can I come
in?”

I hear sheets rustling
before she answers, “Sure.”

When I enter I find her
sitting up in bed under the covers, her hair sleep mussed and her lips sleep
swollen. Damn.

“Remember that little
girl I mentioned might be the one in your vision?”

She nods.

“Well, she’s here now.
How do you feel about meeting her?”

“I’d love to. Just give
me a minute to fix myself.”

“Sure. See you
downstairs,” I say and leave her to it.

Then I go to get
Gabriel and Alvie from the RV and Delilah and Ira from the house across the
street. Ten minutes later we’re all assembled in my small living room. Allora’s
the last one to enter, her hair now pulled back into a braid away from her
face. I notice Cristescu eyeing her with interest and feel like punching his
lights out just for looking at her. Not that I’d be able to punch his lights out
or anything. Definitely not now.

Everybody’s watching
him warily, studying him as though trying to pinpoint the changes. The fact
that he’s sitting here in broad daylight is probably the biggest difference
anyone could expect. His eyes are slightly silvery now and his skin has a
subtle, barely there glow. Delilah embraces her brother briefly and tells him
it’s good to see him. I think that’s about as lovey-dovey as these two get when
it comes to family greetings. Vampires can be reserved fuckers at times and
since Delilah was raised by them she has that way about her as well.

Tegan proceeds to give
everyone a hug, gushing about how relieved she is to see them all in one piece.
Then she approaches Allora and for some reason I’m holding my breath.

“Hi, I’m Tegan,” she
says. “I’m a friend of Finn’s.”

Allora shakes Tegan’s
hand but goes still. “Say something else,” she urges her.

“Huh?” Tegan questions.
“What do you want me to say?”

“I’ve heard your voice
before. I’ve seen you. I know you.” She pulls Tegan closer and then her hands
are on her face, sifting through her short hair and getting a feel for her
appearance.

“You’ve seen her in one
of your visions?” I ask stepping forward.

“Yes,” says Allora, withdrawing
her hands from Tegan’s face.

“What did you see?”
Tegan asks, looking a little taken aback at Allora’s sudden inspection of her.

“You were there with
the little girl I saw. You were older than you are now, but you didn’t look
old. I mean, it felt like you were older than you appeared to be. Like the way
vampires are old but they don’t look it.”

“Weird,” says Tegan
raising an eyebrow. “How could I be older but not have aged? I’m human.”

“Half-human,” Gabriel
corrects her.

“Yeah, but witches
don’t stay young like vampires,” she disagrees. “They age the same as the rest
of us.”

“Unless they become
sorceresses,” Alvie interjects.

Tegan gives him an
incredulous look. “Ha! I’m not going to become a sorceress. Screw that.” She
folds her arms and walks back over to stand by Cristescu.

“You swore. That’s
naughty,” says Rebecca smiling up at her.

Tegan smirks and sticks
out her tongue to which Rebecca giggles.

Allora’s head whips in
the direction of the girl’s voice and she stills. “She’s not the one I saw,”
she states unequivocally.

“Who, Rebecca?”

“Yes. The voice I heard
just now is not the one I heard in my head. She’s not the one.”

Something in Tegan’s
demeanour relaxes, as though she had been hoping Rebecca wasn’t the girl Allora
saw. I kind of get it, too. I wouldn’t condemn a little girl to the task of
restoring peace to this fucked up city either.

“More unsolved
mysteries,” says Alvie shaking his head and folding his arms. “Do they ever
end?”

“Nope,” I tell him
deadpan.

My attention is drawn
to Cristescu as I wonder if he still plans on setting Rebecca up to be cared
for somewhere away from vampires. It’s too chancey to just keep her in the city
and I’m sure he knows it. I’m also sure he doesn’t want any other vamps
becoming like him, because that would mean his current position as top dog
would be threatened.

All of a sudden he
grins at me and I go tense. He looks like he can hear every thought that’s
going through my head and I don’t like it one bit.

“What are you grinning
about?” I ask with narrowed eyes.

“Of course I still plan
on finding a safe place for the girl,” he answers and it takes me only a
fraction of a second to realise he’s answering my unspoken question.

“What. The. Fuck?”

“That’s what you were wondering,
correct?”

“Uh, yeah. And I repeat,
what the fuck? You can read minds now, too?”

“The answer to that is
no. I can read your thoughts from your breathing and the way your facial
muscles move.”

“Piss off,” Alvie
exclaims but he says it more like a question.

“So, drinking Tegan’s
blood turned you into a mentalist. Wonderful,” I say testily and run a hand
through my hair. I’m incredibly ticked off that he knew what I was thinking.
There’s just way too many thoughts inside my head that he has no right to know.