MONTH THREE
ELENA
IT WAS A beautiful summer’s day, something that didn’t make sense. It was supposed to be winter now, and here I sat in the library, my favorite place in this entire household, staring at a summer scene.
There was also no sign that wyverns celebrated Christmas, which was difficult as I was big on Christmas.
A knock on the door made me jump slightly and I turned to see who it was, praying that it wasn’t Seymour.
I glanced at Blake, or his doppelganger. It was just the eyes that were different.
“May I enter?”
“Seymour isn’t here.”
He lips widened and the lines against his cheeks run all the way up to his eyes. He was the spitting image of Blake. I remembered how Annie had said that he was sadistic. I closed my eyes fast at that thought.
“I’m not looking for Seymour. I thought that maybe you and I could have a little chat. Get to know one another.”
Not another one.
“Look, I’m nothing like Seymour. I saw him entering the other day here, and I’ve seen you through the window a couple of times while riding Penelope.”
“Who’s Penelope?”
He smiled. “My wyvern.”
“You actually tamed a wyvern?”
He walked closer to me. “No, it’s slightly different. The key is to learn Wyvic.”
“So you can speak Wyvic?”
“Fluently.”
I raised my eyebrow with a fake grin.
“You?”
“No, I don’t need a wyvern on my side.”
“It’s not always a bad thing to have a wyvern at your side. I know they look scary but wyverns are actually not that different from dragons.”
I raised my eyes slightly. Dragons and wyverns were miles and miles apart, but I would humor him. “Okay, so tell me what makes them almost in the same class as a real dragon.”
“Well for one they have really cool abilities.”
“We all know what their abilities are, Billy.”
“And you don’t find them interesting?”
“I did, once, a long time ago.”
“I would like to know what this wyvern did?”
“He killed someone I love very much.”
He flinched. “Sorry, it must’ve hatched from a rotten egg, as I promise you, Penelope isn’t like that.”
“How long have you had her?”
“A couple of years now.”
“She hasn’t betrayed you once?”
“Nope, and she knows how I truly feel about this place.”
Yet she hasn’t even helped you escape. True friend, indeed.
“So what type of wyvern is this Penelope?”
“She is a Dream Weaver.”
Just like Paul.
“You love the fact that she can read your mind?”
He chuckled. “Where did you hear that? No dragon or wyvern is that awesome.”
Blake could read my mind.
“They can simply put thoughts into your mind. It works a lot like persuasion.”
So reading my mind was a load of shit. He was just extremely good at sneaking around, and something told me now that Paul had known exactly who I was.
I nodded. “Well I’m happy that it is working out for you. All I’ll say is the day I trusted one, I lost someone I loved.”
“Again so sorry to hear that. Look I know there aren’t a lot of options here to trust, but you can trust me. I’ll try to keep Seymour busy so that he doesn’t harass you so much.” He got up and was ready to walk away.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I have my reasons, plus they say first impressions count. The first time you saw me, well let’s just say it made my stomach flutter. Something that doesn’t happen this side anymore.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
“You are welcome.” He turned and walked away, leaving me with that image of killing Blake with a stupid, wonderful kiss.
BLAKE
“BLAKE!” EMANUEL SCREAMED. “You are too close!”
A huge, ugly mouth with millions of teeth snapped my way. I ducked and missed the Creeper just by an inch. Another one latched itself to my back and pulled me in their direction. More started to snap at me, sinking their teeth into me, and a growl escaped my lips.
Emanuel released his fire on some of them, and it barely released me. He dove and blew on more.
The minute the others pulled back, I pushed with all my strength and the one that was attached, snapped in two, leaving the mouth latched onto my back.
I retreated. This was a really dumb plan on Emanuel’s part. He said that I should just let my heart take over and see where I ended up. Well the problem with that was, Emanuel wasn’t the fastest dragon anymore. He could barely keep up.
What was my heart trying to tell me, that she was dead and this was somehow a death wish?
I could feel Emanuel’s weight underneath me, as we were flying toward the park in Tith.
The half creeper still latching onto me was making a horrible sound. I could feel Emanuel’s breath stroking my back softly as he released his fire, trying to kill the sucker, but nothing worked.
I felt weak as the creeper’s venom started to flow through my veins.
I could barely flap my wings as Emanuel tried to keep me steady and stop me from crashing down.
My eyesight blurred, but I could see buildings in the distance and plenty of treetops right in front of them.
“The park.” I barely got it out.
“That’s what I’m heading for, just hold on.”
I started to lose consciousness and Emanuel let out a small grunt as my entire body weight leaned on him.
“Blake, stay with me,” he growled.
His dragon was no match for mine. The last thing I remembered were screams and connecting with the ground really hard.
WHEN MY EYES opened, I could see the outline of a lab sign.
Questions, probably the press again, were being yelled at me. I heard an arm being pulled back fast then it connected hard with something.
Emanuel. Who was he hitting now?
“Blake, can you hear me?” one of the scientists asked.
“What does this mean?” a lady screamed. “Does this mean the princess is dead?”
I opened my eyes and saw the outline of someone crouching behind the cameras. She had blond hair and I tried so hard to zoom out. She started to disappear. “Elena.” My voice barely came out as I pushed myself up onto my four legs. I staggered backward as my legs wobbled. The leech was no longer attached to me, but its poison, that thank heavens was not deadly, was making me drowsy. I crashed into a site nearby, and could feel how I’d taken some of the trees with me.
What did all of this mean? Was that Elena, a vision, was she dead?
Just then I heard my own heart beating really loud as if lodged into my ears. I didn’t know if this was the poison. It had to be as no matter how hard I tried, I could never do this with one shot. I concentrated hard, but it didn’t even feel like it. Then I heard it. The sign I’d been praying for the past three months. A second heartbeat, which was beating faster than mine. She was alive.
ELENA
“I’M TELLING YOU, something is not right.”
“Don’t say that please, Annie. If we lose this place, we are both dead. You know that.”
“I do. I’ll try to find out more, but Seymour and his men are up to something, and it’s going to be bad.”
“Are you sure you heard right?”
“No, I’m not, but I’m telling you he is acting as if he is running this place.”
I closed my eyes and sighed.
“They are going to do something. I can feel it.”
“Okay, just try to find out more. You have an advantage with your hearing ability. Others don’t have it so you don’t have to be close.”
She nodded.
“Stay safe.”
“I’m not the one the psycho wants, and stay away from Billy.”
I nodded.
A week ago after the feast I found Billy having coffee on the porch. We’d started to chat again. He reminded me so much of Blake. He was different too, when Seymour wasn’t around. He had a different personality.
A part of me knew I shouldn’t trust him, but another part started to as he was keeping true to his word. Whenever Seymour started his shit, Billy would come to my rescue. I couldn’t help but like him.
Whenever Billy was around, somehow I felt better. It was as if there was a Blake in this awful place.
There was danger around every corner, and Seymour and two of his buddies, Patrick and Derick, caused most of it. The girls, or birds, the way they call them, were terrified of them.
And now Annie had heard something that didn’t fit so well with all of this. She thought Seymour was going to betray his father, big, but how, well that is something we still needed to find out.
I had to warn Clive somehow. I just had to.
“CLIVE PLEASE LISTEN to me,” I begged. “Seymour is up to something.”
“My son knows to fear me. He will not harm you.”
“I’m not just worried for me. I’m worried for you too. If you are not here anymore to protect us.” I couldn’t think about it.
His hand touched my cheek softly. “You are one of my favorite girls, but I’m stronger than I look. Seymour still has a lot to learn.”
He gazed at me. “Now go and climb into your bed and sleep. You are safe.”
I nodded and watched Clive leave with only his robe covering his body. James had been here tonight, and I feared for his life too.
I couldn’t imagine what Seymour would do to James if he found out about his father’s extra activities that didn’t involve women at all.
Still sleeping at night was a luxury in this place. I’d discovered that I could only cope with a few hours now.
Clive was wrong. His son was a son of a bitch and something told me that Clive was going to learn the hard way just how big.
BLAKE
“WHAT THE HELL are you doing?” Becky asked, and I opened my eyes. “Are you sleeping?”
“No, I’m not sleeping.” I sounded irritated.
“Then what was that?”
“Tuning in.”
“To what.”
“It’s nothing for Little Miss Comment to worry about.”
She sucked in breath as George laughed, and she chucked a napkin toward me.
“I’m not Little Miss Comment, by the way.”
“You sure? You seem to have a lot to say, especially when none of us want to hear it.”
“That is just how I am built, okay?”
“Sure, whatever.”
She sighed. We had a few laughs now and then before the heavy weight of Elena still being missing crashed down on all of us. It had been almost four months. Christmas without her was the hardest, not to mention the New Year. A New Year was supposed to be a new beginning, a new chance. It was supposed to be our first, and I spent it with Emanuel, camping out, not even getting drunk, and just searching for her. We watched the fireworks for a while, but everything had lost its beauty ever since I’d woken that day inside my bed.
“Are you okay, Blake?”
“Becky, she’s not dead, okay?”
She raised her eyes. They were all disagreeing with me, but I knew better. Ever since the Creepers’ poison flowed through my veins that first time, picking up on her heartbeat was no longer a problem anymore. It had gotten easier and easier.
“How do you know?”
“Becky,” George and Sammy said at the same time.
I sighed and grinned. “Because I can feel her heartbeat.” I put a piece of fruit in my mouth, raised my eyes, got up and left the cafeteria.
Footsteps followed me fast just as the first bell rang.
“What do you mean you can hear her heartbeat?”
“Not hear, feel, there is a difference. It’s something Emanuel taught me, but don’t go and wear yourself out, George. It comes with centuries and centuries of being together.”
“Oh, but you can do it already?”
I shrug. “I’m the Rubicon. I can do everything.” My entire posture fell as that comment bit me in the ass immediately. “Except find Elena.”
“You will find her. If her heart beats, you will find her.” George slapped me on the back as we entered Professor Pheizer’s class.
I closed my eyes and tuned in again. My heart beat loudly now and then it was like music to my ears, finding hers was easy now. She was still alive.
