THE SUNWALKER TRILOGY
"Sunwalker is a fantasy novel recommended for readers who want surprises...Soulless, evil monsters, the promise and pain of eternal life, and a dangerous game...a vampire saga that will engross anyone who likes a blend of fantasy and horror wrapped into the bigger picture of a world gone wild." - D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
BOOK 1 Sunwalker
I am really happy with how this came together. Lilly and Tread both have completely different upbringings. Lilly is raised by humans and has no connection to the vampire world. Where as, Tread only knows the vampire world. He despises them, as they hunt down and destroy their kind. They both have preconceived notions about each others world and experience. As they begin to connect they realize nothing is as black and white as it may seem. There are a lot of twists and surprises in store for them.
I hope you enjoy it. Drop me a line and let me know what you think.
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WARNING- THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT READ BOOK 1, SUNWALKER.
Book 2
When Tread’s old friends Koyt turns up one day, along with two vampire friends, Lilly’s father recognizes him as one of his torturers and is enraged that he has been allowed to enter the city. But Koyt says he is a different vampire now and wants a second chance.
When challenges like a widespread epidemic and a mysterious blood thief threaten to destroy the city that Lilly and so many others have worked to build, Koyt may be the community’s only chance at survival.
But can Lilly trust him to do the right thing? Can Koyt live up to his word, proving that he isn’t the monster he once was? And will Lilly and Tread’s relationship survive it if he doesn’t?
PURCHASE AT
Book 3
Lilly has failed to deliver Koyt to her emissary Ryan, as she and Tread have catastrophically underestimated the ancient vampire. The government’s threat to bomb Spero looms overhead. Lex, her bff, has been diagnosed with leukemia with no hope for treatment. And Koyt has something even bigger waiting on the horizon, something that may destroy them all. In this explosive final installment, Lilly will be pushed to the max and friendships will be tested as Lilly desperately fights to hang on to everyone she loves.
**********SPOILER ALERT***********
As promised in the back of the Darkwalker
book here is the alternate ending.
Chapter XVIII
DARKWALKER
Elaine was more akin to a rabid animal than
Lilly’s mother. But at least they had her locked away in one of the vampire
cells in the town jail. For now, she was safe. They had a short amount of time
to try and figure things out. Elaine refused to eat, obsessed in her desire to
kill Dylan.
Lilly’s mother had very little clarity. She was
bloodthirsty and frantic, but could speak. So far, the only words she spoke were
‘where is he?’
Looking at her mother through the metal bars was
hard. There was no recognition in her mother’s eyes when Lilly called out to
her. Elaine was filthy, her hair matted and greasy. The clothes she wore were
little more than rags. The stench that came from the cell was overwhelming.
A bucket of soapy water had been set inside with
a rag, and a brush, along with a fresh change of clothing.
Unable to stand the sight of her mother, Lilly
unbolted the door and turned the electricity to the cell off. When she entered
Elaine continued to mumble the only phrase she seemed able to speak.
“Where is he?”
“Mom, it’s me. Lilly,” her daughter began.
Hollow, uncaring eyes greeted Lilly. Her mother
tried to push past her daughter still searching for Dylan, but Lilly stopped
her.
She struggled against her mother, washing her
down as best as she could. It wasn’t easy with an unwilling participant. Lilly
quickly and forcefully changed her mother into the clean clothes and brushed
through her hair.
Elaine was still a mess when her daughter had
finished. There was only so much a spounge bath could do. But her mother looked
better than she had and the smell was not so repugnant anymore.
The state of her mother left little doubt in her
daughter’s mind as to how Elaine had been treated. The bucket was a black mess
when Lilly had finished.
Lilly held her mother back as she slid out of the
cell.
“Where is he?” Elaine continued to ask as Lilly
slid the bolt back into place.
“Stand back, mom,” Lilly warned before turning
the electrical current back on. It buzzed back into place, shocking Elaine and
causing her to jump back from the pain. “Sorry,” Lilly whispered, but she knew
it was futile. Her mother was not there. At least not on the surface. Perhaps
buried somewhere deep inside the vampire that stood before her.
There were only three possible outcomes to this
situation. One, they kill Elaine and end this. Two, they allow Elaine to kill
Dylan. Neither of those were acceptable to Lilly.
The third was something radical that Lex had come
up with. Elaine would be enraged until she killed her husband. But what if
Dylan were to become a vampire? He would technically be dead. Would that result
in the same rewiring of Elaine’s brain that would occur if Dylan died by her
hand?
It was a huge risk. What would happen if Dylan
changed and then it didn’t cure Elaine? He would have sacrificed his mortality
for nothing, becoming a vampire for all eternity. Doomed to spend eternity
without the love of his life, because if option three didn’t work they would
have no choice but to end her mother’s life.
Her visit to the prison had been a quick one. It
was hard to believe this was really happening. That her mother was a vampire.
She needed to see it for herself before she talked to her father and uncle.
Lilly opened the door to her family’s apartment. Dylan
and Uncle Adam were sitting at the kitchen table expectantly. Lex had told them
Lilly wanted to talk with them, but they had no idea the bombshell she was
about to drop on them.
“Did you find her?” Adam asked, leaning forward.
“We did,” Lilly answered. “…but we were too late,
she is a darkwalker.” Her voice caught on the last word, trembling slightly.
Dylan gasped.
There were several long moments of silence. She
gave them time to process the news.
Adam shook his head and leaned back in his chair.
“So, what now?” he asked. “Is there anything that can be done?” his voice choked
back a sob.
“This is new territory to mostly everyone, but we
think we may have found a loophole,” Lilly explained.
“What do you mean?” Dylan asked.
Lilly explained Lex’s idea to the men.
Adam turned to his brother after a few minutes of
silence. “You have to try,” he insisted. “This is Elaine we’re talking about.”
Dylan stood up and paced. “I love Elaine. I would
do anything, but what you are asking is impossible,” he began. “I can’t change
into one of them. I can’t be a vampire for eternity. And what if it doesn’t
even work? Then I’m stuck one…alone.”
“You’d still have Lilly. You’d get to spend
eternity with your daughter,” Adam argued. “Isn’t any chance better than none?”
Dylan turned towards his daughter, but avoided
eye contact. “Lilly, I’m sorry. I can’t. I do love you, but most of the time I
try and pretend that you’re normal.”
The comment stung more than Lilly could have
imagined. She thought Dylan was past all this. She knew he was angry at her
when Elaine had been taken. But he had a right to be. This was Lilly’s fault.
Even now, Lilly regretted choosing to stay and fight Koyt at the White House
instead of going after her mother herself. Perhaps Lilly would have been fast
enough. But she never realized that her father secretly wished she was human.
Perhaps a year ago this might not have been so shocking, but now those words
would be forever etched in her mind.
“Maybe if I had never been taken, things would be
different. But you said I have to want to be a vampire for the transformation
to even work.” He looked up. “Well, I don’t.”
“I’ll do it.” Adam said standing up, turning his
back on his brother. “I will volunteer. It might work; we are twins after all.”
“I’m not sure-” Lilly began, but her uncle
continued.
“Take me to see her. Let’s test my theory and see
if she gets more frantic when she sees me,” he pleaded. “What have we got to
lose?”
Could this really work? She sat there feeling
nothing but disappointment and heartache at her father’s revelations. Uncle
Adam wasn’t giving up.
“Okay,” she agreed.
“I’m coming too,” Dylan said. “I need to see her
for myself, see if she’s really gone.”
It was a long, quiet walk to the prison. No one
felt like speaking. Even the birds seemed to have gone silent. Every time Lilly
glanced at her father, his eyes were looking pointedly at the ground.
Finally Lilly broke the silence.
“I have some more news. Good news I think, but
I’m not sure how you both will take it.”
The brothers both stopped and looked at her.
“Go ahead, Lil, just spit it out. Whatever it
is.”
“I saw Lilly. Your sister…she’s not dead.”
“What?” They both gasped.
“How would you even recognize her? It’s been
years. You probably just saw someone who resembled what you think she’d look
like now,” Adam said, trying to justify Lilly’s response.
“She’s dead,” Dylan agreed.
“No, she’s not. She goes by Phoenix now. I know
it’s her because she looks just like me. She’s a vampire. Plus, we had
conversations about you.”
“Lilly, this isn’t funny,” her father said,
clearly upset. “Lying about my sister won’t change my mind about becoming a
vampire.”
“I-” she began, but Adam cut her off.
“Lilly wouldn’t make this up.” Uncle Adam touched
her arm softly. “She’s really alive? You saw her? How? Why?”
“We didn’t talk a lot, but she said your mom died
of ALS. She told me she started showing early signs. I know it’s very rare at
such a young age, but that’s what she told me. That’s why she chose to become a
vampire.”
“Why Phoenix?” Adam asked.
Lilly shrugged. “Maybe she just wanted to start
fresh. I know she loved you two. I think she’s afraid of how you’ll react if
you see her again…that you won’t forgive her.”
“Oh Lilly, of course we would,” Adam disagreed,
while Dylan remained silent. “Do you know where she is now?”
“I think she was planning on going back to Little
Rock for a while. At least to meet up with her boyfriend Jimmy. Anyway I’m
sorry to throw this all on you now, but I thought you’d want to know.”
Tread and Sam were waiting inside the jail. Lilly
gave a brief recap to them of her conversation with Dylan and Adam in regard to
Elaine. Both brothers were pretty quiet, still reeling from the fact that their
sister was alive.
“Come on, Dylan,” Tread said. “I’ll accompany
you.”
Lilly stayed upstairs with her uncle. She had no
desire to see her father look at her mother with loathing or disgust.
They came back a few minutes later.
“She didn’t seem any more frantic to me.” Tread
shrugged. “She just snarled and asked, where is he?”
“Yeah, I heard.” Lilly said, confused. “Maybe she
couldn’t see him well enough through the bars?”
Dylan took a seat on one of the folding chairs
and cradled his head in his hands.
“Maybe,” Tread said doubtfully.
Adam stepped forward. “Can I go see her now?”
“Of course,” Lilly answered, leading the way.
“Mom, you have another visitor,” Lilly called as
they approached.
“Where is he?” she demanded.
Adam stepped forward and looked in through the
small barred window.
Elaine lunged forward, screaming. Lilly wasn’t
sure if was from the electrocution or her desire to attack.
Adam fell over as he attempted to flee from her.
“Give him to me!” she yelled hysterically. “He’s
mine!”
Elaine threw herself over and over at the door.
Lilly half dragged her uncle back up the stairs,
in a hurry to get him out of her mother’s sight.
“I don’t get it,” Lilly said. “Is she that
confused?”
Tread had a strange expression on his face.
“What?” Lilly demanded.
“She’s not confused. She is acting exactly like
the vampires in the stories,” Tread said.
It seemed Dylan put two and two together faster
than his daughter. He stalked forward and punched his brother squarely on the
nose.
Lilly watched, too stunned to do anything. She
heard the crack as Adam staggered backward, blood dripping onto the floor.
“Stay away from me!” Dylan yelled and stormed
out.
Lilly sent Tread to find Annie. Adam said his
nose was broken and needed to be set. She thought it would be better coming
from a more practiced hand.
“Did you know, Uncle Adam?” Lilly asked, while
they waited for help to arrive.
He started to laugh and then cringed at the pain
from his nose. “Did I know Elaine was in love with me?” he asked, trying to
keep a straight face.
“No. Elaine may not have even realized it, or
tried to deny it,” Adam said. “It’s not anything you plan to do…fall in love
with your brother’s wife.”
“And did you?” Lilly asked.
“I tried not to.” He sighed. “I doubt I would
have ever acted on it. Even believing Dylan was dead…it just seemed like a huge
betrayal. But I did. You two became my world, my family. It was hard not to get
sucked in. I should have never let it happen.” He touched his nose gingerly,
assessing the swelling. “Dylan has every right to be angry.”
Lilly thought back to her parents’ separate beds.
Elaine calling out for Adam when she was sick. The signs were there, Lilly had
just read them wrong.
Her mother had tried to make it work. After
seventeen years of thinking someone was dead, and having a completely different
person come home than the man she fell in love with, it would have been hard
for anyone to just pick right back up where they left off.
“Wow,” Lilly said, taking a seat on the edge of a
desk. “I can’t believe I never picked up on it.”
“I think both your mother and I were living in
denial. I’m sorry, Lilly. If Elaine wasn’t a darkwalker, I’d leave. I’d give
your mom and Dylan a real chance.”
Lilly walked over and sat beside her uncle,
taking his hand in hers. “Don’t apologize. I love you. I love my mom. I love my
dad too. I want you all to be happy, not just some of you.”
And although she hated herself for thinking it,
the same thought kept coming to her mind. At
least you are willing to do what needs to be done to try and save Mom.
Annie came in through the vampire passage with
Tread.
“You look terrible,” Annie laughed, when she saw
Adam. “Your nose is triple its normal size. I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t laugh
but he decked you good.”
“Just do it quickly,” Adam urged.
Annie nodded and snapped his nose back into
place, before Adam could blink.
“Ahh!” he cried out, his hands going straight to
his nose.
“Here,” Annie said handing him a handkerchief.
“Where’s Jace?” Lilly asked, looking around.
“I didn’t think you’d mind. Sam and Scott stopped
by right as Tread came to get me. They offered to watch a movie with him.” She
looked strangely at Lilly. “Where did you find this kid? I mean don’t get me
wrong he is the sweetest thing ever, but he’s never seen a movie? He was asking
me about what doctors and nurses did?”
“It’s a long story, but the short answer is, he
hasn’t had the best life so far.”
Adam dabbed at his nose tenderly. “So, when do we
start?”
“Start what?” Tread asked.
“Changing me into a vampire.”
Annie put her hands up. “Count me out. I’ve never
tried, I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
Tread put his hand on Adam’s shoulder. “Maybe you
should think this through. Give it a day or two to be sure. If you don’t really
want to become a vampire, then the transformation will kill you.”
“This hasn’t been the first time I’ve thought
about it,” Adam replied, shocking them all.
“It’s not?” Lilly asked skeptically.
“It’s always been more of a hypothetical. But
Lil, watching you grow up, the thought crossed my mind more than once. I knew
your mom and I would eventually grow old, leaving you alone. So of course, I
thought about the possibility of us changing so that you never had to be by yourself.”
He winked at her, “Not that I had the slightest clue where to begin with that. But
I knew if given the choice I would choose to stay with you.”
“Wow, Adam, you really are one of a kind,” Annie
said. “I wish everyone was as open-minded. You are the perfect human,” she
mused.
“I have my share of regrets,” he lamented.
Tread helped Adam to his feet. “Go home and rest.
The sun’s already setting today and there are some things we need to prepare
first. We should start the transformation just after sunset. Come back here at
dusk and we’ll proceed from there.”
Annie escorted her uncle back to his place to
rest. Once they were gone Tread turned to Lilly. “I don’t think you should stay
here tonight, after the transformation begins. It’s not a fun process.”
“Like that’s going to happen,” she snorted.
“Lil, I’m serious, once the transformation starts
you should leave. It isn’t pleasant to watch, and I can only imagine how much
harder it will be since Adam is a family member. Watching someone suffer for
hours on end and not being able to do anything about it…why put yourself
through that?”
She placed her hand gently on his arm. “Look, I
know you are just trying to protect me, but I am not going to let my uncle go
through this alone.”
He rolled his eyes. “I should know better than to
argue with you. Your determination can never be derailed.”
Lilly grabbed Tread by the arm. “Come on, it’s
time for a distraction. I can’t believe it’s already sunset, I slept most of
the day away..”
“Lex is coming back today. She should get here in
a couple of hours.” He smiled.
“Yes, and I don’t want to miss it. Where is the
chopper landing?”
“Alex said town hall. I guess if we’re going to
be frequented by helicopters, we might need some more roofs that are flat and
wide.”
Tread and Lilly raced to the building. Ethan and
Luke were already inside waiting. She could tell they were as excited as she
was, if not more. Neither one wanted to miss the moment Lex arrived.
“Lex is coming home!” Luke sang, jumping up and
down. “Lex is coming home!” Then he stopped quickly and grabbed his arm, pain
evident on his face.
Ethan ruffled his hair and shrugged. “Of course
he has to dislocate his shoulder the day she comes home. But I’m not even going
to worry about that. We’ve been so excited, haven’t we Luke? He barely slept a
wink last night.”
“Is it time?” Luke asked.
“Almost.” Ethan smiled, his eyes began to water.
He dabbed at them quickly with the edge of his sleeve.
Lilly put her arm around Ethan and squeezed him
lightly. He looked so anxious. “She’s okay now. She’s going to be fine.”
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair
pushing his bangs out of his face. “I think it will be more real to me when I
actually see Lex and hold her in my arms again.”
They played eye-spy and a few other games with
Luke to pass the time.
Suddenly, Lilly gestured to the roof, “The
chopper is approaching. Come on.”
Ethan took Luke by the hand and they slowly made
their way up onto the roof. The wind whipped around them, and Luke clung to his
brother’s leg as well as he could manage with one arm.
Tread and Lilly hung back behind them.
As the helicopter blades slowed down to a stop,
the side door opened.
Alex, who had been accompanying Lex on the ride
back, hopped out first. She reached inside and slowly helped Lex down.
It was hard to believe that her friend was on the
mend. She had lost weight and looked frail and pale. Her hair had all fallen
out because of the chemo. But when Lex saw Ethan and Luke, her smile lit up her
entire face.
Alex placed her arm around Lex, supporting her as
they met the others halfway across the empty roof.
Luke ran to Lex and gave her a big hug. He didn’t
want to let go, so Ethan had to bribe him with extra stories before he would
release her.
The worry seemed to fall off Ethan as he picked
up Luke with one arm and hugged his wife with the other.
“Where did your hair go?” Luke asked as he
reached over and rubbed the top of her hair.
Lex laughed. “I lost it.”
“I will help you find it,” Luke proclaimed.
Lex wrapped her arms around her little family.
“Thanks buddy.” She said as she kissed him on the
cheek and then leaned forward and gave her husband a more grown up kiss.
Lex turned around to find Lilly waiting. She
grabbed her bff in a hug. “Thanks, Lil. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for
you.”
Lilly shook her head. “I think it’s more because
of me that you ended up here.”
Lex shoved her, in her normal playful attitude,
but there was no power behind it. It would take awhile before her strength came
back.
“You didn’t give me cancer,” Lex said.
Lilly opened her mouth to say something else, but
her friend continued.
“Take me home,” she whispered. “I don’t want to
pass out in front of Luke.”
Tread reached forward and scooped her up. “Allow
me. We have missed you around here.”
“Thanks.” She smiled and closed her eyes. “By the
way, what happened to Luke’s arm?”
“He had an incident with a tree. He’ll be fine,”
Lilly answered.
Tread took Lex home, followed by Ethan and Luke.
Lilly stayed behind. She turned to Alex. “Thank
you for riding with her.”
Alex looked back at the chopper. The pilot had
disembarked along with a nurse and they were standing still, looking nervous.
“It was an odd sensation, walking into a human
hospital. V.A.S watching me but not pointing their weapons at me…” She
shrugged, “to be honest, I didn’t feel safe until we landed here. It will take
time to get used to this new uneasy sense of peace that seems to be beginning.”
Lilly walked to the pilot and stuck out her hand.
“Thanks for bringing my friend back.”
He took it hesitantly. “Are you both really
vampires?” he asked uncertainly.
“Yes,” Lilly responded. “Why don’t you come take
a look around, see how we will live, what peace can look like?”
Alex looked up. “Oh and I forgot to mention, I
brought back a surprise. I’ll give you a minute.” She smiled suspiciously and
disappeared inside.
“Wow!” the nurse exclaimed. “She just vanished.”
Lilly turned to see movement inside the chopper
and a huge man jumped down. She stared in disbelief. Even before he turned
around there was no way to confuse him with someone else.
“Bear!” Lilly exclaimed, running forward.
She leapt into his arms and hugged him.
“You’re alive? How?”
He laughed. “Well, you wouldn’t think it would be
too hard to tell if someone had been decapitated or not, but apparently it
was.”
“Huh?” Lilly asked, confused.
“I was hit by a few darts during the chaos.
Somehow after I fell some piece of metal debris fell across my neck. When I woke,
I was covered in blood. I don’t know. I am guessing it was one of the human VAS
officers who checked my body. With the metal and blood apparently it looked
like I was headless.” He rubbed his neck. “I’m glad that wasn’t the case.”
“Me too!” She hugged him again. “Let me take
these two around the town, and we’ll catch up soon.” She kissed him on the
cheek and then went back over to the humans.
The pilot and nurse cautiously followed Lilly
inside, sticking to each other like glue.
Lilly gave them the grand tour. The visitors
seemed to relax as the time passed, especially when they saw other humans
interacting with the vampires like it was no big deal.
“Do you think every city will be like this?” the
pilot asked after the tour was over.
“I’m not foolhardy enough to believe this will
happen overnight. Just look at the past. It wasn’t long ago when people of
different races were looked down upon and discriminated against. I am sure
there will be ups and downs. Vampires and humans who will fight against this
new concept. But we know it is possible.” Lilly said pointing around the city.
“It will take time and work, and some give and take on both sides. Someday,
yes, I hope this will be the new world norm. I think the President is putting
good measures in place that will assure the survival and safety of both
species.”
Lilly escorted the nurse and pilot back to the
chopper, thanking them again for their help. She sat down on the roof after the
helicopter left and looked out over Spero. Hope. It wasn’t just her fanciful
idea anymore, but a real possibility.
To say the last few weeks had been crazy would be
a gigantic understatement. They had searched for Koyt and found him, unprepared
for him or his nightwalker army. She had fought in a war and won. There were
losses, but the end resulted in the government of the United States seeing
vampires in a new light. Everything was gray now. Black and white no longer
existed.
Koyt was dead. Lilly no longer had to look over
her shoulder at every turn, wondering what he was plotting next. Lex’s father
had turned out to be a big surprise. His invention of synthetic blood could
revolutionize the way vampires fed.
He was running his final human tests now. Lex had
told Lilly that this was the first batch of synthetic blood that the test
subjects were not rejecting. If all went well, vampire testing could begin as
soon as volunteers were found.
The last pressing detail was Elaine. All she
needed to do was fix her mother. Lilly hoped Adam changing into a vampire was
the right move. If it didn’t work, her uncle would have given up so much for
nothing.
She wondered if he had really thought through
living in darkness for eternity. It seemed so unfair to Lilly that she had this
huge blessing that others did not.
“So here you are,” Tread said, smiling as he
stepped out onto the roof. “What are you doing?”
The sun was shining brightly. Birds were flying
overhead, and down below, she could hear vampires and humans working side by
side. Life could seem perfect if one just skimmed the surface.
Lilly sighed. “Just thinking…about everything
that has happened…that could happen.”
He came and sat beside her, wrapping his arm
around her. Lilly rested her head on his shoulder. “How long will the
transformation take? When can we test it?”
Tread rubbed her arm softly. “It just depends. Everyone
is different…a day or two more than likely.” He kissed the top of her head. “Why
don’t you go home and get a few hours of sleep,” he suggested.
“I’m don’t think my father wants company right
now.”
“Go to my apartment. Sleep in my bed.”
“I think you’re forgetting about Jace,” Lilly
reminded him.
“I took care of that. He’s sleeping at Lex’s with
Luke.”
She wasn’t thrilled with the idea. Ethan and Lex
deserved their first night back home together to be just with their family.
“Don’t worry, it was Lex’s idea. She saw him
coming out of Sam and Scott’s apartment.”
Lilly sighed. “Do you think he’s been passed
around too much? I don’t want him to feel like he’s a bother.”
Tread pulled her towards him and held her.
“No, he’s having the time of his life. Literally.
I explained to him about your mother and said we’d have plenty of time to spend
with him in a couple of days.”
“All right. I think I will take you up on the bed.”
She yawned.
Then Lilly kissed him once, and he pulled her
into his arms even closer. After a moment she pulled away. “If I don’t stop
now, I doubt that I ever will.”
He sighed, releasing her reluctantly. “See you
soon.” He winked.
Lilly opened the apartment door slowly. She could
hear the even breathing of her uncle in the other room and didn’t want to wake
him.
She crept quietly into Tread’s room and slid
under the covers. She didn’t need blankets or sheets to keep her warm, but they
were comforting to her, nonetheless.
She closed her eyes and breathed in. Now that she
wasn’t the newbie vampire that knew nothing about her own kind, she could smell
the sunshine on the pillow, mixed with a faint hint of bleach.
Living with Adam was definitely rubbing off on
Tread, quite literally. Her uncle was a neat freak and loved to use bleach.
Lilly closed her eyes and tried to dream of happier times for her family.
Chapter XIX
PAIN
He arched
his neck trying to see inside the room…waiting and looking tense.
“It’s just
me, Uncle Adam.” Lilly rolled her eyes. “Tread said I could crash in his room
for a few hours. I wasn’t sure if my dad was up for any company yet.”
Adam
relaxed and turned his attention back to his pancake preparation.
“Breakfast?
Isn’t it like an hour before sunset?”
She looked
at the time and couldn’t believe how long she had slept.
“I felt I
deserved a last meal.” He winked. “Human meal at least.” He turned red. “That’s
not what I meant.” He chided Lilly after seeing the grin on her face. “I just
wanted to savor one more meal of actual solid food, before I change to the all
liquid diet.”
Lilly could
tell he was trying to take everything in stride, but he looked a little green
when he spoke.
Adam piled
up a plate of pancakes and drizzled butter on them. Syrup was harder to come
by, but they could make their own butter.
Of course
that would all be changing now too. Lilly had already sent a group of vampires
to start clearing the roadways. Soon trucks would start delivering supplies to
their town. With vampire escorts, the government was going to try reopening the
roadways for deliveries. If things worked well, in a few years normal citizens
might start driving across the country like in the olden days.
Adam cut
through the pile with his fork and slowly placed a bite in his mouth. He closed
his eyes and smiled.
“Heavenly,”
he said, without opening his eyes.
Lilly
watched her uncle with mixed emotions. She was happy to see him enjoying
something so simple. Making his last few human minutes matter. However, at the
same time her heart ached that he even had to contemplate giving up his
mortality.
She looked
up at the clock. “We should go.”
Adam
finished the last bite, wiped his face with a napkin and rose from his chair.
They walked
in silence to the prison, each lost in their own thoughts. Tread and Annie were
inside waiting.
“I thought
I’d run into you earlier in the day,” Tread commented. “What have you been
doing all day?”
“Stuff,”
Lilly said vaguely.
“Sleeping,’
Adam interjected.
Tread
covered his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing. “Sorry,” he apologized.
“I knew you were going to take a nap, I just didn’t think it would be an all
day nap.” He winked.
“Poor Jace ,I
haven’t seen him all day,” Lilly said,q trying not to look so embarrassed.
“Don’t
worry, I checked in on him. I was going to see if he wanted to throw the
football around. He’s having a great time playing with Luke. He barely noticed
me.” Tread pretended to look hurt, “And how could anyone not notice me?” he
gestured to his good looks.
“Ha. Ha,” Lilly said, unamused.
“So, Adam,
are you sure about this?” Tread asked, turning the attention back on the reason
they were gathered. “Once we begin there is no going back.”
“Yes,” Adam
confirmed, trying to put on a brave face. “Lilly mentioned something about me
having to drink human blood?” He cringed slightly.
Tread
pulled out three blood bags and placed them on the table.
Lilly and
Adam’s eyes both widened.
“All that?”
Adam asked dumbfounded. “I was imagining more like a shot of blood, or maybe a
cup.”
“The
transformation changes your body chemistry completely. Human blood is what
fuels it. I believe the more you have in your system the easier it will be.
It’s not an exact science”
Adam nodded,
but looked uneasy.
“I don’t
know how much you will be able to keep down, but just do your best.” Tread
picked up a pair of scissors and snipped the corner off of a bag. He handed it
to Adam.
Lilly’s
uncle took the bag hesitantly and then held it to his lips. He sucked in a
mouthful and then spit it out, coughing and gagging at the taste.
“We can’t
do it if he won’t drink it,” Annie said sympathetically.
Adam wiped
his mouth. “I’ll do it,” he insisted. “I didn’t know what to expect. Now I do.”
He turned
to Lilly. “Just talk to me. Tell me anything, I don’t care, just try and
distract me, so I am not thinking about what I am actually doing.”
Her mind
went blank. Lilly tried to think of something, anything to say but couldn’t
come up with a single idea.
“Lex made
it home,” Lilly finally said.
Adam picked
up the pouch again and closed his eyes. He slowly sipped the blood. His face
was scrunched up and every mouthful was a struggle to swallow. He waved his
hand for her to continue.
“She looked
good…I guess. I mean she is alive.” Lilly sighed. “Lex was really pale, and her
hair had all fallen out. She looked so different, and like she’s still sick.
But I know it will take time before she’s her old self again.”
After
finishing half the first bag, he paused. He looked like he was trying not to
throw up. After a second, he opened his eyes. “She’ll get better now. Lex’s
hair will grow back, and she will regain her energy.” He smiled.
He looked
at the blood bag in front of him and took a deep breath, before picking it up
again. He closed his eyes and drank more blood.
“You really
are amazing, Uncle Adam.” Lilly smiled in awe. “Even when you are doing
something more difficult than I think I can really understand, you are still
trying to make me feel better.”
He finished
the first bag and shook slightly. “Can I have a few minutes before I try and
drink the second one?” He looked to Tread.
Tread shook
his head. “Sorry. I think it’s better the faster we get it in you. I think the
more of the transformation that can take place in the dark, the safer we will
be.” He looked at Adam sympathetically. “And I can’t begin until you finish.” He
pushed another pouch towards the doctor.
Adam
nodded, seeming resigned to his fate. Having set his mind to the task he picked
up the second bag and downed it quickly.
Lilly’s
mouth dropped open in shock.
Her uncle’s
skin looked pale. He closed his eyes and tried to settle his stomach.
“You’re
doing really well,” Tread added, attempting to encourage the doctor as he
pushed the final pouch towards Adam.
Lilly’s uncle
took the final pouch. She had hoped he would be able to down it as quickly as
the second but almost immediately she realized that was not going to be the
case.
It took
about ten minutes of Adam fighting himself for every swallow. But finally he
was done.
Lilly could
hear his stomach sloshing from all the liquid.
“Okay,
let’s get this over with before it all comes back up,” Adam pleaded.
Tread
looked at Lilly. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“Me?” Lilly
asked, surprised. “I’m not doing it!” she exclaimed.
“He’s your uncle,”
Tread argued.
“I’ve never
done this before. You have to do it,” Lilly insisted. “You changed Red
successfully.”
“And I
failed before that,” he reminded her.
Adam shook
his head. “You are both instilling so much confidence.” He put his hand on
Tread’s shoulder. “I want you to do it,” he prompted. “Please don’t put this on
Lilly. She will never forgive herself if something goes wrong.”
“And she’ll
never forgive me if it goes wrong either,” Tread argued.
“I think we
both know that isn’t true. She would be mad for a while but in the end, she
would forgive you. You both have been through too much to let anything stand in
your way.”
Tread
looked at Lilly. She smiled hopefully. He sighed. “Fine. But I can’t make any guarantees.
I haven’t done this enough to know what works. These are all just my best
guesses.”
“Fair
enough,” Adam agreed.
Koyt had
created hundreds of vampires, Lilly reminded herself. Maybe the one Tread had
tried to change before Red just didn’t want to be a vampire.
“Your neck
has the best veins,” Tread said awkwardly.
“Fantastic.”
He tilted his neck forward and Tread leaned in. He hesitated for a moment and
then locked down with his fangs.
Adam
gasped, as the vampire forced as much venom as he could into the doctor’s
system.
“It doesn’t
hurt that bad,” Uncle Adam said when Tread finally released him.
“Give it a couple
of minutes, your whole body is about to be changed in ways we don’t even
understand,” Tread cautioned. “We should probably put him in a cell downstairs
just to keep him out of the way, and out of any sunlight.”
Unsure if
he would make it through this, Lilly threw her arms around him. “I love you,
Uncle Adam.”
Then after
a final hug, she escorted her uncle down the stairs and into the first cell. She
wanted to put as much space between him and her mother as possible.
For a brief
moment there was utter silence as Lilly locked her uncle in and waited outside.
Then as if a flip was suddenly switched Adam was screaming hysterically,
begging for them to stop, saying he had changed his mind.
Tread came
down the stairs and took Lilly in his arms. She buried her head in his
shoulder. “This is horrible,” she cried.
“Lilly, go.
I will stay with him. You don’t need to watch this.”
“I won’t
leave him,” she said, pulling away. “I’ll be okay, this was just a little
shocking.”
The hours
seemed to drag on. Seconds seemed like days, minutes like weeks and hours like
an eternity.
Lilly felt
guilty. More than a few times, Tread’s offer for her to leave popped into her
mind, and she almost took it. But then she’d remember everything Adam had done
for her, and was continuing to do, and knew that no matter how much it pained
her to stay, she couldn’t desert him.
Then a
horrific thought occurred to her. What if Adam didn’t survive the
transformation? Would her mom still be a darkwalker if she didn’t kill him
herself? That was the question they were unsure of, but she had never
considered the fact that she might end up losing both of them.
As the
screaming continued, Lilly tried to distract herself. She wondered where Dylan
was. Did he even care about what happened to Elaine now? If her mother stayed a
darkwalker would it even matter to him? Or would he feel like she deserved it
for her betrayal, whether she realized her feelings or not?
Lilly felt
no ill will towards her uncle or mother for falling in love. Dylan was her
father, but really, Adam had been her Dad.
She knew it
wasn’t Dylan’s fault. She tried to picture how he must feel. He had loved
Elaine for all those years, never having the closure that her mother had. He
had no reason to doubt that she was alive and well. Maybe his love for her was
the only thing that he clung to all those years.
Then when
he was finally set free, she hadn’t remarried. To him it probably looked like
she had held onto his memory the way he had of her.
After
twelve hours of endless screaming, if you could even call it that, Lilly had to
leave. She needed a few minutes. Never in her entire existence had the sound of
such suffering pierced her ears. It didn’t even sound human. But then again
maybe Adam wasn’t anymore.
The guilt
washed over her immediately as Lilly took the steps in a single bound. She
glanced to Tread, who nodded. Lilly knew he would stay with her uncle.
Bursting
out into the sunlight, Lilly took a deep breath, and covered her ears,
attempting to lessen the shrieks coming from below.
Being so
overcome by the pain of her uncle, Lilly hadn’t noticed Dylan standing off to
the side. He was leaning against the building, looking like he hadn’t slept in
weeks. Which he probably hadn’t.
“Is it
over?” Dylan asked, not meeting her eyes.
Was what over? Adam’s transformation? Adam’s
life? Elaine being a darkwalker? Uncertain to which of the many outcomes he might
be referring, Lilly simply answered. “No.”
“Did you
know?” her father asked, the accusation clear on his face. “I mean, was I the
only blind idiot to think that my wife had been faithful?”
“No. I
didn’t know,” Lilly answered, exasperated. “And Mom was loyal. It was different
for her than it was for you. Dylan was declared dead years ago.” She couldn’t
bring herself to call him Dad anymore. His previous revelation had changed
things, there was a distance she now felt that might never go away. How could
he pretend she was a normal girl? It
was as if they were back at square one. Only now the possibility of him
changing seemed impossible.
“I know,”
he barked angrily. “Don’t you see how that makes it worse?” he asked. “What
right do I have to be angry? But I am. I still feel betrayed. And now my brother,” he added bitterly, “will be
the one to save her.”
There was
an awkward silence. Lilly didn’t know how to respond. Of course she could
understand how hard and unfair this seemed to her father, but she couldn’t help
but be glad that her uncle was willing to try and save her mother.
“I’m
leaving.” Dylan sighed.
Lilly’s
eyes opened wide. “What? When? Where will-”
“I can’t
stay here anymore,” Dylan interrupted, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “I will wait
and see what happens to Elaine. But Lilly, I still love her. I never stopped
loving her. I know I am not the same Dylan she fell in love with, but I can’t
stay here and watch her and Adam, now that I know the truth.”
“But-” she
began.
“It will be
better for everyone. Your mom deserves to be happy. She won’t ever act on
things with Adam if I am here. I’m going to go to Little Rock. I want to see
Lilly, or Phoenix ,or whatever she goes by now. I need to see my sister. I have
to see her at least once with my own eyes. Then who knows where I will end up.
But it can’t be here.”
“Okay,”
Lilly agreed. It was a little surprising to her when the word slipped her lips.
Shouldn’t she be begging him to stay? But everything he was saying made sense.
Lilly wanted her father to find happiness, and it was never going to happen
here. He was never going to be the father she had dreamed of. But it still
stung, the fact that he couldn’t stand vampires, and yet he wanted to go and
spend time with a different one. “It could be another day or two. Maybe a
little more until we know if your brother will survive the transformation.”
“Lilly,
will you let me know when it’s finished?” Dylan asked, looking defeated and
resigned to a life of misery.
She nodded,
then looked back towards the entrance to the jail and the wailing coming from
inside.
“I’ve got to get back in there.” She nodded to the building, then watched as Dylan got up and walked back towards their apartment.
Chapter XX
BEGINNINGS
The screaming
ceased coming from Adam’s cell after eighteen long hours. Tread was just coming
down the stairs with a fresh blood bad.
“I’ll go in
first,” Tread offered.
“No,” Lilly
insisted, taking the bag, “he’s my family. I’ll go.”
She peered
through the window and bars into the cell. Tread assured her the transformation
went well, but so far Adam hadn’t spoken a word.
In the back
of the cell, on a small cot, he sat, as still as a statue. Lilly unlocked the
room and pulled the solid door open. It squeaked loudly, seemingly jogging her
uncle out of his trance.
“Is…” he
began softly at first and then seemed to find his voice, “…is it over. Did it
work?”
Lilly started
to open her mouth, but he continued.
“I mean, I
know it worked. I can see everything, my heart isn’t beating, and I can hear
people laughing and talking outside.” He looked up at her slightly terrified.
“But the pain…it’s finished, right?” He shuddered at the memory still fresh in
his mind.
Tread
stepped in behind her. “Yes, it’s over Adam.”
He sighed,
and a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “I made it,” he said it as if he
still didn’t quite believe it.
“Here,”
Lilly said tossing him the blood.
Quick as
lightning his hand shot forward, catching it and then immediately his teeth
sunk into it.
When Adam
was finished, he looked at them in awe. “That tasted so much better this time.”
They all
laughed.
He looked
at his hands and felt up in his mouth where his fangs had just been. “It’s so
surreal. I still feel like myself but not. I can’t believe how fast my reflexes
are now. And my canines just extended and retracted on their own, just out of
instinct. I didn’t even realize how much I needed that until I tasted the first
glorious drop.”
Lilly shook
her head. “It sounds so weird to hear you talk like that.” She turned back to
Tread and gestured towards the stairwell, and he disappeared.
Adam looked
at her expectantly.
“I told
Dylan we would tell him, if and when you came through it.”
“He must
hate me,” Adam whispered.
“I think he
is just trying to come to terms with it all,” Lilly explained. She would let
her father tell Elaine and Adam of his plans to leave.
“So are you
ready…” She let the words dangle.
“To see if
your mom still wants to murder me?” Adam shrugged. “Why not, otherwise what was
the point to all this?” He stood up and then stopped. “I didn’t mean that,
Lilly. Obviously, I hope this works and that Elaine will change into a normal
vampire.” He reached out and grasped her hand. “But even if it doesn’t work, I
won’t regret this. Getting to spend my life with you in it.” He looked at the
door and smiled. “Let’s see if this works.”
He bolted
to the door and Lilly grabbed him. “Try and slow down. Let’s approach this
cautiously.”
He nodded,
looking slightly embarrassed.
Lilly
walked over to Elaine’s cell. “Mom!” she called.
A low growl
came from inside followed by the phrase that was becoming her mother’s mantra.
“Where is he?”
Adam waited
for Lilly to move back and he stepped forward, facing her mother through the
small barred window.
Lilly
closed her eyes and waited. There was nothing.
Suddenly
Elaine gasped and fell backward, screaming hysterically and writhing in pain.
Before Lilly could stop him, Adam unlocked the door and swung it wide open. He
rushed to Lilly’s mother’s side.
“No!” Lilly
cried out as she reached for her uncle, but only caught handfuls of air.
Lilly
rushed behind him and tossed him across the room positioning herself between
her mother and uncle.
Suddenly
Elaine stopped. Her body lay completely still on the prison cell’s floor. Lilly
crept forward and peered over her mother.
“Lilly?”
Elaine asked. “What happened? What’s going on? I feel like I’ve been in a heavy
fog.”
“Mom?”
Lilly rushed forward pulling her mother into a long embrace.
“Elaine!”
Adam exclaimed in relief. “You’re back.”
“What do
you mean back?” she asked uncertainly. “Where am I?” she glanced around, “Why
are we in this prison cell?”
“Let’s go
upstairs and we will explain it all.”
Lilly and
Adam ushered Elaine up the stairs slowly and cautiously as if she were a china
doll and any movement could send her shattering into a million pieces.
As they
took the steps slowly, Elaine froze.
“Mom, are
you okay?” Lilly asked.
Elaine put
her fingers on her wrist. “It’s real. I wasn’t dreaming. I am a vampire.”
“Yes,” Adam
confirmed. “We’ll talk about it more upstairs. You need blood,” he said,
reminding Lilly that her mother hadn’t fed since her transformation, being too
fixated on finding and killing Adam for anything else to have mattered.
Once in the
foyer, her uncle led Elaine to a couch while Lilly grabbed another blood bag
from a mini fridge they kept behind the desk.
“Here.
Drink this. You may need more than one,” Lilly said, handing the pouch to her
mother.
Elaine
hesitantly put it up to her lips and then bit down. She downed it quickly and
requested a second bag, which she finished with equal precision.
“It’s all
coming back to me now,” Elaine said closing her eyes. “It’s like a dream.
Everything is a little hazy. Where is Dylan, is he okay?” She looked to her
daughter and then to Adam, blank expressions staring back at her.
“I can hear
him now.” Elaine smiled relieved. “He’s coming with Tread.” She seemed to relax
for the first time.
Dylan
walked through the door a moment later. Lilly saw pain flash across his face,
but it disappeared quickly. “So it worked.”
Elaine
moved to stand up but Dylan stepped back. “It’s still me,” Elaine said
hesitantly. “Just different.”
Dylan
glanced to Adam and then back to Lilly’s mother. “I just wanted to see that you
were…okay. I’m leaving in the morning. Good luck to you both.” Lilly’s father
turned and stormed out the front door.
Elaine
stood there frozen. “Did I miss something? What’s going on? I know I am a
vampire now, but he got used to Lilly. He’s not even going to try?” She turned,
searching the others for answers.
The room
fell silent and Lilly looked to Tread.
“Why am I
the default on giving all the bad news?” he asked, rolling his eyes.
“What is
going on?” Elaine turned to Tread expectantly.
Tread
explained to Lilly’s mother about darkwalkers, and what Koyt had turned her
into. Then he told her all the events leading up to her recovery and the
subsequent incidents that followed.
Adam looked
down at the ground bashfully as Tread explained what it meant that Elaine
wanted to hunt down and destroy him.
“But I’m
not…” Elaine began, but Lilly could tell her heart wasn’t in it.
She turned
to Adam. The doctor finally looked up and their eyes met. “I’m sorry, I tried
not to, I mean who falls in love with their husband’s brother?” She shook her
head. “I don’t know what you must think of me.”
“Probably
about the same way you’d think of me for falling in love with my brother’s
wife.”
Elaine
smiled a small smile. “You’re probably just saying that to make me feel
better.”
“Mom!”
Lilly exclaimed. “He became a vampire for you.”
Her mother
moved over and knelt beside her uncle. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe you gave
up your mortality for me.”
Adam
touched her cheek gingerly. “Really it wasn’t even a decision. Who wouldn’t
want to spend eternity with these two beauties?” He winked somberly at his
niece.
Elaine
pulled back. “But we can’t. How can we do that to Dylan?”
“Mom, he’s
okay with it,” Lilly began, “or, he’ll get there. He doesn’t blame you. Or at
least he’s trying not to.” She walked over and placed a hand on each of their
shoulders. “He knows it was different for both of you. We all thought he was
dead. Then suddenly he came back and he’s a changed man. Mom, he is never going
to be okay with us being vampires. Not the same way Adam is. That’s why he’s
leaving. He wants to give you both a chance at happiness. Hopefully he will
find some too. But it was never going to work out with you and him, especially
now that you are a vampire.”
Adam
reached out and squeezed Elaine’s hand gently.
“I don’t
know. It still feels wrong, like I am cheating on him. Having feelings and
acting on them are two very different things. I can’t think about an us, not in
that sense, not right now,” Elaine explained.
Adam
laughed. “We have plenty of time. Let’s not even think about it right now. We
have enough to get used to as it is.” He reached up to his mouth feeling his
teeth. “Let’s just get out of here. I have spent enough time in this prison.”
They began
to head to the front door and Lilly rushed in front of them.
“What are
you doing?” Lilly yelled.
“Going back
to my apartment,” Adam said, looking at his niece as if she were crazy.
“The sun
is out.” She motioned to a window. “You have to use the vampires’ corridors
now.”
Adam and
Elaine both laughed. “Oh yeah. That will take some getting used to.”
Lilly
motioned them towards the safe exit, not finding anything funny in the fact
they had just nearly been incinerated.
After
watching her uncle and mother walk through the vampire pathway, she turned to
face Tread.
“One of us
needs to watch them nonstop!” she exclaimed in frustration. “They don’t even
seem to grasp the significance of what almost transpired.”
Tread
laughed lightly, and then stopped abruptly as he received death stares.
“They will
get it. Don’t worry. So much was piled on them at once. New species, new love.”
He cocked his eyebrow up in his signature move and then winked. He reached
around her and pulled her closer. “Let’s just enjoy the fact that it worked for
a moment.”
Lilly
sighed, but complied. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly and
enjoyed the fact that her mother was back, even if it wasn’t ever going to be
exactly the same.
After a few
moments Tread looked down at her, a smile playing behind his eyes.
“What?”
Lilly demanded. “What is so funny?”
“You know
that now Elaine and Adam are going to be able to hear your every move. No more
sneaking out.”
Lilly
shoved him playfully. “Now it will just be more challenging. And I’m faster.”
Tread
laughed. “This is going to be interesting.”
True to his
word, Dylan embarked early the next day. The only change in his plans was that
he waited until the evening to leave. Alex was taking a car back to Little Rock
and offered him a ride, which he hesitantly accepted.
He tried to
be the bigger man and awkwardly and hastily had given Elaine and Adam his
blessing.
He told
Lilly he would write, but probably not often. In Arkansas he was going to try
and find Phoenix. If she’d already departed, then he would search for her in
other cities. It was something he insisted he had to do, just see her once.
After that he didn’t know.
“Come on
Jace, it’s time to find a more permanent home,” Lilly said as she practically
had to drag him away from Luke. “Don’t worry, you will see plenty of your new
friend.”
“Do I get
to live with you?” he asked.
“Would you
like that?”
Honestly,
Lilly hadn’t even thought of it. She assumed he’d want to live with Tread.
“Yes.” He
smiled, sliding his small hand in hers.
“Well, I
want you to meet someone first, and if you like her too, then I think that can
be arranged.”
She took
him back to her apartment. Adam, Elaine and Tread were all sitting around the
kitchen table chatting as they entered.
“Well, this
handsome young man must be Jace,” Elaine said, greeting him warmly.
“Are you
Lilly’s mother?” he asked.
“Yes, I am.
And I think you’ve met Adam already.”
He nodded.
“I’ve never had a mother. Luke has a mom and a dad.”
“I’m sorry,”
Elaine said.
The boy
shrugged. “It’s okay. I didn’t used to have one, but I found one now. Lilly’s
going to be my mother.”
It warmed
her heart to hear the young sunwalker’s desire. She had never thought of having
children, since she knew it wasn’t possible. Lilly had never thought it would
be something she missed. But watching Lex and Luke over the past few months had
made her wonder.
“Are you
sure you want to stay here with me forever?”
He smiled a
wide grin. “You’ve loved me more than Koyt ever did. I never want to leave.”
“Well, what
about Tread?” Lilly asked.
“He can’t
be my mom,” Jace laughed. “Tread’s going to be my Dad. Then I’ll have a family
just like Luke. It will be a forever family, right?”
Tread stood
up and knelt down beside Jace. “We’d love to be your forever family.”
It hadn’t been an easy journey to get to this point in Lilly’s life. She had suffered loss, pain and heartache. Plans had gone awry and life had thrown its share of curveballs her way. But sitting here now at the kitchen table, knowing Lex was going to live, and being encircled with her mother, uncle, Tread, and Jace, she couldn’t imagine anything better.
Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER
The world
had changed so much in the past twelve months. Big eighteen-wheeler trucks were
back on the road making deliveries in-between cities. Even a few commercial
flights had just commenced out of D.C. and a few other major cities.
The Vampire
Registration Act had been a huge success. Basically it assigned a social
security number to every vampire that registered. Anyone who wanted to work,
could work, and vampires would be allowed to vote and run for office starting
six months after.
Sam was
appointed as the first vampire senator, and Alex and Bear had joined the VAS
which had now simply been merged into the FBI. They were on a special task team
that hunted the few rogue vampires that didn’t want to abide by the new laws.
It took
Lilly some time to convince Tread that he needed to register too. He didn’t
like the thought that they would start tracking him in a sense. But she
reminded him it was the same process all humans went through, only it began at
birth.
Laws were
being made, and cities were hesitantly getting used to seeing vampires at
night. Most metroplexes did not have the money to put a dome over their city.
But Lilly had connections in the government and as a thank you for their part
in stopping Koyt and his army, President Silver had gifted the city a special
dome, made out of the same material as the pathways. This would allow everyone
human and vampire alike the same freedom to walk through the city at will.
“Are you
sure this has been tested?” Elaine asked hesitantly as Lilly opened the door to
their apartment complex widely.
“Yes,” her
daughter insisted for the hundredth time. “Annie stuck her hand out and when it
didn’t disappear, she went out in the city. She has already been running around
everywhere, enjoying the sunlight. We had double the glass installed just as an
added precaution.” Lilly added, rolling her eyes. “Now come on!” She grabbed
her mother’s hand and pulled her outside.
Elaine
froze for a moment, then stretched her arm out, letting the light touch her
skin. “This is amazing! Even better than the synthetic blood that Eric came up
with.”
“I told
you.” Lilly beamed.
Lex’s dad
had really come through with his synthetic blood invention. It wasn’t quite as
tasty as real human blood, but it kept her just as strong. It was now available
in every store. It was helping the humans come together faster with the
vampires. Donating blood wasn’t a favorite of any of the humans here in Spero
and they were thrilled when they no longer had to give blood. Lilly imagined
that humans everywhere probably felt the same way. Luckily most had never had
it forced upon them.
Lex was
doing fantastic. She was back to her old self, and she and Ethan had just
gotten the okay to start a family. Luke was hoping for a sister.
Lex’s
parents had been visiting monthly and Lilly thought her bff just about had them
convinced to move here.
“You look
pensive,” Tread noted.
“I just
can’t believe it. Everything we hoped for. I keep thinking I should pinch
myself so that I know this is real…Ouch!” she turned and shoved him, rubbing
her arm. “I meant metaphorically.”
“Can I
pinch you too?” Jace asked.
“No, pinch
your father,” Lilly said.
Jace had
been the surprise that Lilly never knew she needed. He called them Mom and Dad now
and kept pushing them to get married. He was ready for them to live all under
the same roof. And Elaine had made it clear that wouldn’t happen until Tread
put a ring on her daughter’s finger.
Luke waved
from off in the distance and Jace ran off to play.
“Things are
pretty much perfect. We’d never have gotten here without your stubborn
determination.” Tread winked.
“I’ll take
that as a compliment,” she said as she elbowed him playfully. “Of course it
wasn’t without loss. Too many friends paid dearly for this,” she added.
“It seems
history really does repeat itself. Everything worth having requires sacrifice.”
Tread looked out somberly over the city. “I wish Red could have seen this. He’d
have been proud of what we accomplished. When I told him of your crazy
notions,” he cocked his eyebrow up and winked, “he believed you could do it.
Even before meeting you. Anyone who could survive that long living with humans
had to be incredible.”
“If it
wasn’t for Red’s bravery and sacrifice, none of this would have happened. He
was the incredible one.” Lilly wrapped her arms around Tread and hugged him. “I’m
happy they added his name to the memorial of all the fallen. We lost too many.”
“We did,”
he agreed, kissing the top of her head. “I am glad you suggested it, especially
remembering those senators that lost their lives in Arkansas. You never let
anyone be forgotten. I am sure their families appreciated that.”
She looked
up as footsteps approached. Annie was headed towards her, an envelope in hand.
“Mail came,
and there was something for you,” Annie said.
“From
Ryan?” Lilly guessed. Although he normally called now, he was an old soul and
still liked to correspond the old-fashioned way. It reminded him of how they
had gotten so far.
Annie shook
her head. “No, not today.”
Lilly took
the letter and turned it over. It was her father’s handwriting scribbled across
the front of the envelope. She had almost given up hope that he would write. It
had been a year and she hadn’t heard a word.
Careful not
to rip the contents, Lilly tore open the top of the letter and slid out the
note.
Lilly-
I’m sorry it took me so long to write. Having you
for a daughter has never been easy. It’s filled me with so many emotions. The
biggest one being guilt. I know I never loved you as I should have. I felt even
guiltier after leaving you again. But the pain of seeing Elaine and Adam
together would have been more than I could bear. I understand it, and truly
only wish them the best. Hopefully in time my feelings will have faded enough
that perhaps I can come visit. But life is short, at least for me, so I can’t
make any promises.
I found your aunt. It took me a couple of months.
I started in Little Rock the last place you heard she was and tracked her from
there. She was in Harbor Cove if you can believe it. When she heard I was there
she found me.
I’m sorry Lilly. I should have loved you from the
moment I met you. Being reunited with Phoenix, I still can’t get used to
calling my little sister that and seeing that she is the same, loving sister I
remember has made me realize, probably more than anything could, that vampires
are not monsters. That they can be good.
Maybe had my circumstances in life been different
I would have realized it sooner. But the only memories of vampires I had were
of my years spent being tortured and imprisoned. Even knowing you were my
daughter I still harbored a secret fear that you would somehow turn on me.
But things with Phoenix don’t feel different at
all. I now believe and want that same relationship with you. If you can forgive
me and have the same desire.
I still can’t bring myself to come back to Spero.
But I have taken up residence in our old home. I would love for you to come
visit at anytime. Phoenix wanted me to tell you that we have disassembled the
cell in the basement. And to please bring Jace if you come.
I hope in time you can forgive me, you know where
to find me,
Dad
She passed
the letter to Tread, who had been standing silently at her side, giving her the
space he knew she needed.
He read it
quickly.
“When do
you leave?” he asked.
“How do you
know I’m going?”
He didn’t
answer, his look said it all. Because he knew her too well, because this is all
she ever wished for, and because she despite everything loved her father.
“I think
you mean when do we go?” Lilly corrected.
“Not this
time. You should do this on your own, bring Jace. I’ll only compl-” he began.
“Would you
just shut up,” Lilly said, only halfway teasing. “You’re coming. End of
discussion. You are my life. My father wants to learn to love me, then that
means loving you too.”
She leaned
forward and kissed him. She could tell he still wanted to argue but he
reluctantly gave in, pulled her close and kissed her back.
Tomorrow. They
would leave tomorrow because they could. Nothing was standing in their way now.
She pulled
Tread closer and reveled in the happiness that she had never let herself even
dream of feeling. It was real now, and she wasn’t going to waste a minute of
it.
