Blaze (Midnight Fire Series) Page 5

  Regardless of Tristan and Luke, there were decisions Kira needed to make about her future, decisions that seemed to haunt her as time slipped away. Could she give up life with the conduits like her adoptive mother had? She would be able to pursue her dreams of being a chef and she could have a somewhat normal life. But how did Luke fit into that plan? Giving up the conduits would mean giving him up as well.

  But if she chose the conduit lifestyle of fighting vampires and wielding her powers, any semblance of normal in her life would vanish and Tristan would probably vanish right along with it.

  Kira was at a crossroads in her life: two paths both equally enchanting and equally foreboding in nature. But right now, there was only one path and that was the road to Aldrich’s castle.

  Kira sat up and Tristan nodded, thinking the same thing as her.

  “Aldrich’s?” Kira asked.

  “Aldrich’s,” Tristan confirmed.

  Kira gulped, unable to stop the growing sense that everything in her world was about to change.

  Chapter Four

  Really, no street lamps? Kira thought as Tristan continued driving along the dark, winding English road. They had been driving for just under two hours and the further they got from London, the more deserted the streets had become. Large, well-lit roads were replaced with narrow, country lanes. Occasionally Kira saw the windows of a house gleaming through the fog, but it had been well over twenty minutes since she had seen any sign of life.

  “Not to sound like a bored two-year-old, but are we there yet?” Kira asked while wrapping her arms tightly around herself. These silent streets were giving her the heebie-jeebies. Even Aldrich’s castle seemed like an oasis compared to this dank landscape that lacked even the sparse light of the moon.

  “About ten or fifteen minutes away I think,” Tristan told her before turning from the road to focus his eyes on her. “Do you remember what I told you?”

  Kira rolled her eyes. “Yes, Aldrich is not to be trusted. He’s evil and will say or do anything to get what he wants.” It was all he had been telling her for the entire car ride. As soon as the two of them stepped out of the rose garden, Tristan had been strictly business.

  “Right,” he said with a sturdy nod.

  “Can I ask you a question?” Kira paused for a moment, not really waiting for his permission but waiting to gather her thoughts. “Do you think it’s possible that he really might have my mother? That in twenty minutes I might actually meet her for the first time I can remember?” She gulped, trying to swallow her nerves. Even Kira couldn’t believe the idea—it was too good to be true that her mother might just be waiting for her, living and breathing, even if she was doing it in the castle dungeon.

  Tristan grabbed her hand. “I want to believe it.”

  “But you don’t,” Kira finished the thought for him, “not really.”

  “I’m not trying to hurt your feelings, I just want you to be prepared. I know Aldrich—he is the cruelest man I’ve ever known. I just don’t see why he would have kept her alive.”

  “For her blood?” Kira asked dubiously, thinking the answer completely obvious.

  “Not for this long, not for almost eighteen years.” Tristan shook his head, trying to reason it out internally. “No one could survive being a blood donor for that long—it drains your body way too much.”

  “And if he wasn’t using her for blood…” Kira said slowly, trying to understand.

  “Why would she still be around?” Tristan filled the silence with the question Kira didn’t want to think about.

  “But it doesn’t make sense,” Kira said, running a hand through her messy hair in frustration. She could feel her body heating up, getting angry, losing control as always. The slight pain of breaking through the knots in her curls actually helped ground her to the car—the sting pricked her back into reality.

  “What doesn’t?” Tristan asked, looking at her warily. Kira realized he probably felt the burn of her powers heating her hands and hastily slid her fingers from his grasp. He held tight, not letting her slip away.

  “Making us come to England doesn’t make sense unless he has my mother. If he wanted me, he could have taken me from the ball. I was locked in a room with him—if he wanted to kill me or kidnap me, I wouldn’t have been able to stop him.” Kira thought back to that night, easily recalling the fear that struck her senses when Aldrich sidestepped her powers, using his telekinesis to swat her arms and flames away. He could have knocked her out if he had wanted to. He could have made the ceiling fall on top of her and kill her if he had wanted to.

  “And if Aldrich wanted to find you,” Kira spoke up, thinking aloud so Tristan could follow her argument, “well, he did. And all he would have had to do was take me, and you would have followed him back here anyway. Why the ruse if my mother isn’t really alive? Why did we need to come here of our own free will?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t trust him. He doesn’t have an ounce of goodwill in his body.”

  “I know that, but I also know there is something in this house he wants us to see, and I just hope that it’s my mother.”

  At that, almost as if on cue, Tristan turned down a straight driveway leading to a small square of light on the horizon. As they drifted closer, Kira realized the small square was really a menacing stone castle, half drenched in light and half drenched in shadow. Two giant columns joined together by a flat wall of stone lined with windows formed the front of the castle. In the middle, two glass lanterns hung on either side of the main door—a massive wooden slab that opened down the center. The windows around the door glimmered with light. As they drove even closer, Kira could see shadows dance across thin curtains. Distantly, she wondered if they were human.

  To the left of the main house—the area that stole Kira’s attention—were ruins. Stones crumbled into piles, old pillars of the original house stood tall but without floors or a ceiling to keep them stable. All the windows were empty holes and grass shrubs had invaded all of the cracks in the stones. Vines climbed up the steep walls, grasping at open crevices, reaching up the walls like arms clawing out of a grave. The deep opaque shadows that curled around the stones were so dense that Kira could see the skeleton of the remains but couldn’t see what lurked behind the façade.

  Kira gripped Tristan’s hand a little tighter, hoping she would never have to venture into that area of the home. He squeezed, as if sensing her hesitation, and brought the car to a stop. Before either of them could move, the door opened and a brilliant ray of light pierced the driveway, sending the shadows away.

  Aldrich.

  Even though his features were silhouetted by the bright lights of the house, Kira knew it was him. His tall thin frame, short light brown hair and eyes of a deep midnight blue, so dark they were almost black—Kira could see it all in her mind even if the shadowed figure before her were a mystery.

  “Ready?” Tristan asked. Kira sucked some air in before nodding. Slowly, she reached for the latch and let the door pop open. Unhooking her hand from Tristan’s, Kira stood and faced Aldrich on her own.

  “Kira,” a man’s voice called. It was slightly higher in octave than she remembered, but the pompous, highbrow lilt of the words was familiar. “I’m so glad you accepted my invitation. And Tristan,” he turned, shifting slightly so the side of his face was no longer shrouded in blackness, “welcome home.”

  “This was never my home,” Tristan responded coldly.

  “Technicality,” Aldrich replied with a shrug. Tristan started to turn away, reaching back into the car for their things, but the door shut on its own, slamming firmly closed with a bang. “My servants will take your things to your room. Come inside. Let me show you around.” He swept his arm in a wide arc towards the door and disappeared into the house.

  Without giving Tristan the time to even think about grabbing her and making a run for it, Kira followed Aldrich inside. Tristan appeared next to her in the door a second later, holding her protectively around the waist. They wer
e in this together, for good or for bad.

  The decor was completely different than Kira imagined. The floors were checkered with polished white tiles, the table in the foyer was a lacquered black that gleamed in the candlelight. In fact, the candles were the only thing that seemed remotely old-fashioned about the space. Modern art graced the plain white walls of the hallway and a giant iron chandelier hung from the ceiling.

  Looking around, Kira spotted an open doorway leading to a large dining table surrounded by darkly stained wooden chairs. White-washed antlers hung on the wall, making Kira wonder if Aldrich caught those with weapons or with his teeth. The thought made her shiver and she shifted her gaze to where Aldrich stood at the base of a grand staircase. In the light, Kira really saw his features: opal eyes, pale white skin, a lean build even taller than Tristan’s and light-brown hair that Kira would say was bleached by the sun if she didn’t know any better.

  He wore a finely tailored black suit that looked sleek, but it washed out his already light complexion. And his red tie was starkly bright against the monotone black, white and neutrals of the space.

  “Welcome,” he said, gesturing around the room. Kira remained silent.

  Aldrich snapped his fingers and an Asian girl wearing a black sheath dress walked into the room holding a tray with three glasses—one glass filled with a clear liquid and two wine glasses filled with something red. The servant’s skin looked smooth as porcelain and Kira almost thought she was a vampire but for the two small holes piercing her neck. At the sight, Kira flinched, turning her head away from the thin girl. Willing or forced? Kira asked herself.

  Tristan felt the small jerk of her body and gave her an apologetic stare. She noticed there was no surprise in his expression—the scene was exactly like he had imagined it would be.

  The servant stretched her hand in Kira’s direction, holding out a glass of what appeared to be ice water. Glancing at Tristan in her peripheral vision, she saw the small nod that let her know he couldn’t detect anything wrong with the liquid. Kira accepted the cool glass gratefully and took a sip to refresh her parched throat.

  A wine goblet was offered to Tristan but he declined, making Aldrich raise his eyebrow slowly. When the girl stepped closer to Aldrich, he accepted his cup and tipped it in Tristan’s direction, taunting him. After a long sip, he lowered the cup and motioned up the stairs. Kira, however, didn’t follow the line of his hand. Her vision was caught by the thick red liquid stilling gripping the sides of the cup—not wine, definitely not wine.

  “Miko will show you to your room. I’ve had clothes laid out for the both of you and I will be expecting you in the dining room in half an hour,” Aldrich said very matter of factly.

  At the sound of her name, the girl placed the tray down on a side table and started walking up the steps, not really waiting for Kira and Tristan to follow. Tristan moved first and Kira followed after him, but halted when Aldrich grabbed her arm. “Your mother is very excited,” he whispered to her. Kira felt her heart sink and lift at the same time—soaring with hope that her mother was waiting somewhere in this house, and falling in fear that Aldrich spouted nothing but taunts and lies.

  Tristan reached down to grab her hand, tugging her from Aldrich’s hold with a hard look at the older man. His eyes turned an icy sky-blue, threatening Aldrich, who just grinned and took a step back in surrender.

  “I’ll see you soon, for… dinner.” Kira couldn’t bare the secret hiding behind the slight smirk gathering on Aldrich’s face—he was up to something and Kira knew she wouldn’t like it. So, she turned and followed the servant, Miko, down the sterile, museum-like hallways until the girl stopped outside of a door.

  Without saying a word, she twisted the doorknob and stepped aside to let Kira and Tristan inside. When Kira walked past the girl, she looked into her vacant stare and glazed-over brown eyes. Was this girl drugged or just so brainwashed that she couldn’t function anymore? Kira thought silently, feeling uneasy.

  The door closed, leaving her and Tristan alone for what felt like the first time in ages, even though they had only left the car a few minutes ago.

  “Are you all right?” Tristan asked while running his hands up and down her arms to get rid of the goose bumps that had sprouted against her skin. Kira closed her eyes and fell against his chest, taking comfort in his strength. Yes, she was a super powerful vampire hunter who could throw flames from her skin at a moment’s notice. But, there was nothing wrong with having a big, strong man hold her and tell her everything would be okay.

  Kira stayed silent against Tristan’s chest for one more prolonged breath, letting the world stop for just a second, before pulling away to survey the room. Even though it was a bedroom, it was no cozier than the rest of the house. Still black and white, still very sparse, and still very modern. Bleh, Kira thought with disgust, how would she fall asleep in here. It seemed almost like a hospital room—completely devoid of character or any personal touches.

  “We need to get dressed,” Kira said with a sigh and pointed towards the suit and dress draped across the gigantic four-post bed behind Tristan. At least the pillows looked comfortable, she mused and walked over to see what outfit Aldrich had chosen for her.

  Green—that was all she saw when she walked over. Layers and layers of bright seaweed and lime materials puffed up off of the mattress, leaking on top of Tristan’s suit and cascading to the floor as well.

  Kira sighed—black-tie, really? The last time she dressed up this much was for a school dance, and even that dress wasn’t very expensive. Reaching over, Kira ran her hands over the smooth silk and scratchier chiffon. This dress definitely wasn’t cheap.

  “He’s a little extravagant,” Tristan said after leaning over Kira’s shoulder to eye the outfits.

  Kira rolled her eyes. “Obviously. A ball gown for dinner?”

  “What can I say, the Victorian era always was his favorite time period to live in,” Tristan told her wearily, as if he had experienced something like this before.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” Kira spun slowly, taking his expression in carefully. Sparks of pale blue spotted his otherwise navy eyes, and Kira new he was remembering something—something that made him angry. She may not have super senses like him, but vampires were sort of easy to read.

  “Nothing,” he shook his head, retreating away from her to grab his suit. Kira clutched his hand, turning him back around and flashing him her angry eyes. His shoulders fell and he looked away from her toward the window. “It’s just… Aldrich used to make… well, he would give fancy dresses to…” Tristan trailed off, unable to finish the thought, but Kira could guess.

  “To his food?” Tristan nodded and this time Kira turned away from him with a gulp and reached for the dress. Now or never, she thought while looking for the zipper. If it meant getting a step closer to her mother, it was worth it.

  Across the bed, Tristan was unbuttoning his shirt with his back turned to her. Kira took a moment to watch the shirt fall from his shoulder, revealing smooth muscles underneath. He turned to pick up his dress shirt and caught her staring at his bicep. Grinning, he flexed his muscle as a joke and Kira immediately snapped out of it. He was right, this was so not the time for any of that. She gave him a ‘who, me?’ look and turned around to get dressed.

  Kira spread the dress on the ground, trying to create a hole through the top that she could step into. Finally successful, she dropped one leg through, then the other, and raised the dress to cover her exposed torso. One quick zip up the back and she was ready to go… she couldn’t breathe, but she was ready to go.

  “Holy crap this is tight,” Kira said and spun around to search for a mirror.

  “It looks,” Tristan took a moment to swallow, “it looks amazing.” Kira smiled to herself. It was nice to know she could make a one hundred and fifty year old guy speechless.

  Spotting the mirror, Kira started to walk across the room, and realized after about one step that there was a slit in the floor length dre
ss—one that reached almost completely up her thigh. Behind her, she heard Tristan cough and compose himself.

  In the mirror, Kira finally understood. Green was definitely a good color for her—of course, the skintight silk corset sucking her stomach in and pushing her boobs up didn’t hurt. Right below her waist, the corset loosened into a billowing skirt, which billowed enough to completely expose her legs thanks to the sky-high slit. The entire dress was made of a beautiful emerald silk and the under layers of the skirt were composed of different, brighter hues that were revealed when she walked. In fact, if Kira didn’t feel slightly like a high-class prostitute, she might have felt rather sexy. As it was…

  “No way am I wearing this,” Kira turned away from the mirror. “I’m meeting my mother!” Tristan was too busy staring at the dress to bother paying attention to her words. Looking down at the full-length of her left leg, Kira grabbed the fabric and closed the slit firmly shut, snapping Tristan to attention.

  “Uh?” He looked up, and finally took notice of her annoyed expression. “Hey,” he shrugged, “you knew coming to Aldrich’s would be difficult.”

  “Yeah, you’re clearly suffering,” Kira said under her breath and walked over to her bag, which had conveniently been resting in the corner when they originally walked into the room. Digging around, she pulled out a pair of Nike spandex shorts and quickly wriggled them on. She would wear the dress, but her way.

  Looking at the four-inch heels resting at the base of the bed, Kira was tempted to pull out her sneakers in complete defiance. But she decided to give in. With her legs covered up a bit, she didn’t feel quite so bad in the dress and if her mother really had been living here for ages, she would probably understand that Aldrich had picked out the outfit.

  “Okay, let’s go,” Kira said after clasping the strappy shoes in place. She pulled the chain with her father’s wedding ring out from underneath the corset. Normally she liked to keep it hidden, for her private enjoyment, but for her mother Kira would wear the ring proudly. Tucked below the ring was the small sun Luke had given her. For a moment, Kira thought about removing it just for the night. But the two went together perfectly, and as much as Tristan would hate it, Kira liked having a little reminder of Luke with her.