Waiting (8 page)

They continued to stare each ot
her down, Brian not backing off
as he turned his gaze to me.

"I just want to make sure that you're alright. He doesn't seem like a friend to me."

Before Francis
could make this worse, or brain
wash him, I grabbed Brian's shoulder to get his attention.

"I'm fine. I promise. He's a friend and he would never hurt me."

He'd actually promised never to and Parker also told me I'd be safe from now on, so I believed what I said one hundred percent and Brian finally seemed to too.

He nodded then let go of my hand, glared back at Francis then disappeared through the bar door.

"What's that
chap
’s
problem? Can't take a hint, can he?"

Francis smiled before turning me in the right direction then down into an alley.

Before there was time to object he grabbed onto my side and flew us to the top of the building we’d just been in. I clutched to him, closing my eyes until I felt the ground again. I loved heights but that was just plain scary.
 

There had been two bums in the alley way and even though they might've been on drugs, they still would've noticed us flying.

"Are you supposed to fly in front of other people?"

I had no idea vampires existed until now so I'm guessing it was kind of a rule to remain unnoticed.

"They didn't see us. I cloaked us in darkness."

Was that supposed to answer my question? Never mind, there was more important things to discuss.

"Where's Parker? He mind fucked me after promising he wouldn't. I didn't freak out, although I kind of recall thinking maybe I was dead and he was my prize in heaven, but you can't be surprised I'd think that, right? I mean, vampires? Those are mythical creatures along with fairies, Big Foot and werewolves. I think I handled it pretty well given the circumstances."

Francis waited patiently for me to get it out of my system before he took a seat on the concrete ledge.

"He had to
'mind fuck'
you. It was the only way to keep you safe and him not constantly worrying about you until we finished with my little problem." His normal sarcastic, smiling face was gone and was replaced with one as serious as Parker's when we'd met in the clock tower. "But now he's missing," he added as if it were an afterthought.

"He's
what
? How do you know he's missing instead of just hiding from you? You said before that you hadn't seen him in fifty years." My hands were shaking and I had to clench them in hopes that he wouldn't notice. "But you're strong, there's nothing that could hurt him, right?"

Panic took over my previous feeling of anger. If he was missing then I couldn't yell at him. If he was missing then I couldn't kiss him, hold him. Why did he have to be gone now?

"We
are
very strong compared to humans, but if he was taken by our enemy's then our strength is equal, sometimes less depending on how old the other is."

By age? Did they gain strength with every passing year instead of getting weaker with age?

"How old are you?"

His lips twitched.

"I'll be two hundred and seven next month, thanks for asking. How old are you? Wait, let me guess. Twenty eight?"

The question was more of a statement since he seemed to know everything about me.

"Yes. How old is Parker? And you call each other brothers, are you real brothers? Were you born or created?"

I still had so many questions and Parker wasn't around to answer them.

"How about we focus more on finding Parker? Tell me what happened when you let him into your apartment."

Let him?
'Are you going to invite me in?'
Vampires couldn't be let into my home without an invitation. He warned me not to invite anyone in before he wiped my memory. That might come in handy. But couldn't someone just
make
me invite them in?

"We talked on the couch before he carried me to bed where he wiped my memory. I woke up not remembering anything but having fun the night before. When I saw you tonight I think it somehow regenerated my brain." I cocked my head to the side since I wasn't sure. "But Brian didn't remember you."

"He wouldn't since Parker didn't want him to when he did the tampering. He probably wanted you to remember once you saw one of us, hoping it would be him, which means that he wasn't planning on disappearing." Ok. So we at least got that part figured out. "He never showed up to meet me again last week so I think he was taken after he left your apartment. I've been watching you, thinking he decided to back out of our deal, but he hasn't shown back up and I can't feel him."

He looked even antsier now.

"Can't feel
him? Is that a bad thing?"

"It means he's being held somewhere deep in the ground, or he's gained more power than I'm aware of." Let's hope it's the latter. "But you seem to know even less than me so this has been a complete waste of time."

"Of course I know less than you! This all happened so fast and he disappeared just as quickly. Now you show up tonight and say Parker's missing...wait, what are you doing?”

He'd taken a few steps towards me and was trying to hold my gaze the way Parker did to Brian. He was going to brain wash me! The nerve.

"Don't you dare!" I squeezed my eyes shut and squatted down to cover my face completely.

"You won't remember this happened. Ever. What's the big deal? Would you rather me bring you home first so you feel more comfortable?"

No that wouldn't make me feel
more comfortable
!
Why did every situation have to lead to brain washing lately?

"It would make me feel better if Parker was here, or if you could take me to him, or if you promised to never mess with my mind unless I asked you to."

I didn't think I was asking for much. Normally I might have to ask someone if they could pass the ketchup, not if they wouldn't extract memories from me.

"Alright, I promise."

Before I glanced up I remembered another thing that happened. If
he did a blood oath then he'd b
e sworn to it. A mere promise he could break at any time.

"Do a blood oath thingy."

His chuckle surprised me but I remained with my head covered in case it was a trick. I'm sure he could've forced me out of this situation already but he patiently played along.

"
A little extreme but
if it means you'll stop acting like a child, then fine."

Peeking out from under my arm I saw some movement, and then blood dripping to the ground.

"I swear to not
'mind fuck'
Piper Smith unless she specifically asks me to."

The blood stopped dripping and I finally unfolded myself to look at him again. He rolled his eyes while whipping the knife against the back of his pants.

"Happy now? That might come back to bite you."

His lips pulled back to reveal a
scary
crystal white smile, more beautiful than I thought he could be.

"Yes. And no. I want to find Parker but at least you won't make me forget him again."

That just wouldn't do.

A man I've longed for most of my life finally shows back up just to be ripped out just as quickly as last time.
 
I wasn't letting him go without a fight.

"Who do you think has him? The same people you were trying to get away from?"

Francis stood still as if contemplating what he should and shouldn't tell me. I should've made him promise more in his blood oath. Maybe I'd get another chance to modify it.

"Yes, they're
the same ones. The bloody Pulpa
s!" His face contorted to anger. "It's my fault. I should've gotten out a long time ago but they aren't the type to let you in, then out while still breathing. Not that we breathe but you get the concept."

Back to the smiling, joking Francis.

"Pulpa
s? That's the name of the species or like a cult of vampires?"

"They're more like a cult. We're the same species. It's like humans with serial killers, but they're more organized and open. They roam together instead of secluding themselves. Way more dangerous. And more powerful because of their strength and numbers."

Great. They sound wonderful. Just what my life needs at this point and time.

"Excellent. Where are they? Would you be able to feel him if you were closer to him? And what does the feel entail?"

The more I knew, the more I'd feel like I was helping.

"I might be able to feel him but I haven't had any luck where I've looked already. It's like a magnetic pull. I know where he
is
when he's not cloaking himself, and even then I can sense him to a certain extent. But now, nothing." He began pacing back and forth. "To answer your earlier questions, we are reall
y brothers. Born from the same m
um, turned by the same woman. There are very few cases of being born a vampire since it must be from a human's womb, and living longer than the first few years, let alone days, is practically unheard of."

“Well, let's just start at the beginning. Once he left my apartment he might've gone home. Have you been there?" The look he gave me made me feel even stupider than I already felt. "Right. Probably the first place you looked. What about your place, would he have left you some sort of message there?"

He stopped pacing, seeming to be thinking my words over. Then he smiled before doubling over in laughter. I waited patiently to be let in on the joke, finally taking the time to look out at the view. We weren't on a very tall building but it was still pretty.

Francis stepped beside me then up onto the ledge with his hand extended towards me. He moved with such a grace only God's could imitate. After a seconds hesitation I took it. He helped me balance on the ledge, looking down at the passing cars and people with a smile.

"Do you want to come with me? Or would you rather me drop you off at home?"

It didn't take me long to answer.

"Come with you. I want to find Parker, too. And in the meantime I still have a million or two more questions."

He continued smiling when he pulled me close, telling me to hold on tight.
 
My hands instantly went around his waist and locked on the opposite side as I hung on for dear life. The next thing I knew we were flying at a speed I figured some planes couldn't master. The wind stung my eyes, making me close them and hang on tighter
while burying my head against his chest
, afraid I'd die if I lost even a centimeter of my hold.

The night air was cold, but the adrenaline running through my body counteracted it, making my body tingle all over. My hair blew around my face, stinging my neck since I'd worn it down tonight.
 
Francis' long black jacket flapped around our feet, but flowed nicely along our path.

Minutes later we landed in the middle of a forest, trees sprouting everywhere, rocks and small bushes spread across the wide expanse with no walking path to indicate he actually lived and walked in this area often. The smell of fresh air and blooming flowers was strong, and the perfect combination for my s
enses. Beautiful was the correct
word to describe his front yard. Or back yard. Or did he just live here in the open?

He took a few steps toward a giant rock wall covered in Ivy, lifted a chunk to the side with ease, then gestured for me to go in ahead of
 
him. Call me superstitious but I just didn't think that was a good idea. I hesitated long enough for him to go in ahead of me, lighting up the cave walls as he passed. Light bulbs were strung every
few feet, illuminating the dark hallway
.

Electricity in a cave? Very cool.

The rock walls were about five feet wide and at least eight feet tall, since he could walk easily into the space. There were no decorations, pictures, anything that I could see as we walked down the long, uneven hallway, eventually leading to the center which then had six more hallways, all connecting to this massive circle of a room.

"This is nice."

He had a bear skin rug in front of a brown leather couch. A desk with papers strewn everywhere, in no order whatsoever, covered almost half of the wall. A bed big enough for six with red silk sheets was to the right, and were those handcuffs attached to his bedframe?

"Does anything look out of place? Anything Parker would've left behind?"

I wanted to find something and get out of here fast. Claustrophobia was rapidly sinking in.

"Not really. Sorry, didn't think the handcuffs would freak you out,” he passively commented after seeing where my gaze lingered.
 
“We'll be out of here in no time. Just let me look through every piece of paper here."

Thinking we'd be here for hours since the pile was monumental, I started to take a seat on the couch.
 
Before I could fully sit he was moving in a blur of motion, paper thrown across the room until finally the desk was clean except for the one piece of paper he held, sitting in a chair, leaning over the cherry wood desktop.