Fated Heroes Page 5

  Realistically, I knew that I should have quit pouting. I should be thankful I was given anything. I could have been demoted to head chauffeur or something. So I guess visions weren’t so bad. Right? If they helped save my friends’ lives, then I needed to embrace my newfound ability. Fuck. It just burned my ass I didn’t get to do anything that was physically cool.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you there,” I sighed as I accepted my fate and then immediately felt like an ass. It wasn’t their fault they were born with their abilities.

  “Why do they want me?” Kimberly asked nervously.

  “I’m not one hundred percent sure. I think they want your blood,” I said with a wince and turned back around in my seat.

  “What exactly did you see in your vision?” Alpha demanded.

  “Not much. It was Kimberly, much younger. And she was with one of those fangtastic dudes. He was drinking her blood. But...” I closed my eyes as I tried to remember exactly what I saw. “It wasn’t like he was draining her. The only word I can use to describe it is he was like sipping on her. Does that make any sense?” I opened my eyes again and looked back at my astonished friends.

  Kimberly looked horrified and brought her hand up to her neck. She felt around as if she was checking the spot for invisible bite marks. I felt horrible that I was bringing her any discomfort. But she had to know. If a vampire had drunk from her before, then she could be in more danger than we realized.

  “Do you recall any of this?” Nick asked Kimberly, his eyes locking with hers in the rearview mirror.

  “No!” The word tore from her body in anguish.

  “Court, were you able to make out where they were in your dream? Maybe some sort of description can help jog her memory,” Mike suggested as he reached over to grab Kimberly’s hand.

  I closed my eyes again as I tried to remember more of my dream. Fuck, this was already starting to drain me. It took quite a bit of energy to recall everything I saw. Since i had been exhausted when we left, I was riding on borrowed time.

  “It’s dark. You were headed home. I’m assuming from a job since you’re wearing black pants and a white shirt. Looks like you were a waitress,” I stated as I tried to make sense of the images that played in my head. “Looks like you are walking through a park? I can see a slide and some swing sets.”

  I heard a startled inhalation of air as I continued to sift through the pictures in my head. Didn’t Kimberly know that it was completely unsafe to walk through a park at night alone? She was the sensible one of the group. What in the hell had she been thinking?

  “Looks like you have a necklace on. A locket, maybe? I keep seeing a picture inside of it of an older woman. Hmm. It’s about the size of a quarter with a heart etched in it. It’s really pretty.” I pressed my fingers to my temples as I felt another headache coming on. Was that a sniffle I heard behind me?

  “Looks like you were,” I stopped as I let out a slight moan of pain. Fuck, it was getting more painful as I pressed on. But I was so close. I couldn’t stop now. “I see a gate, so I guess you were almost out of the park when he came up behind you. I think the park was his hunting ground. Explains some of the unsolved missing persons cases over the months,” I said distractedly.

  “Focus, Courtney,” Nick said with slight irritation. I rolled my closed eyes and listened to more of the sniffling behind me. It sounded like someone was crying.

  “There isn’t anything left to tell,” I sighed as I opened my heavy eyes. “He drank some of her blood and then looked deep into her eyes before he left.”

  “Why would he do that?” Mike asked.

  I turned in my seat to stare at him and I watched him squeeze Kimberly’s hand. Kimberly was sobbing quietly on the seat beside him.

  “Kimmie, what’s wrong?” I asked softly.

  “What’s wrong? She just fucking sat there and listened to you describe a night where she was ambushed by a blood-sucking vampire that drank from her. That’s what’s wrong!” Nick snapped at me in frustration.

  “Just because I saw it, doesn’t mean it happened! It could have been just a bad dream stemming from what has happened,” I countered.

  “It happened,” Kimberly choked out as she gulped back more tears.

  “What?” all three of us asked at the same time.

  “That locket belonged to my grandmother. My mother gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday. There was a picture inside of it of my grandmother. My mom put it in there after she died because we were so freaking close. I thought I lost it,” Kimberly explained before she placed her hands to her face and sobbed again.

  “So do you remember the night I described?” I inquired.

  I hated to be so insensitive and ask her such a hard question during her time of pain. But we needed to know if what I saw was true or not.

  “Y-yes. I was w-working as a waitress to make some extra money to save up for a car. I had missed my bus and figured since it wasn’t so late, that it’d be okay to take a shortcut through the park,” she said, then took a deep breath to try and compose herself. “I remember thinking that there was someone behind me. But that’s all I can recall. It’s like I blacked out. I don’t even remember how I made it home. Just that my locket was missing after that night. I even went back to the park the next day and retraced my steps,” Kimberly explained as she tried to wipe the tears off her cheeks. Her voice was thick with emotion.

  “Holy shit,” Mike said after a stunned silence.

  “Well, guess that answers that,” Nick said snarkily. “So, oh magical seer, what the fuck do they want with Kimberly? I mean, no offence or anything Kimberly, but I can’t help but wonder why they kept you alive.”

  “It’s because of her blood,” Mike said in a daze.

  “What’s so special about her blood?” Nick asked as he turned to look at the traffic behind him before switching lanes. I barely paid him any attention as he got off on the exit.

  “Weren’t you guys listening to the story that I told you about my grandpa?”

  “Yes, but Mike, last night we heard a lot of things. Not like we are going to remember every single detail,” I sighed.

  “An enemy who dreams of walking during the day,” Mike quoted.

  “Okay?” I asked again. We were all pretty much clueless as to what he was trying to tell us.

  “For fuck’s sake, guys! The vampires want to day walk. Kimberly is a healer. Obviously, they have found out that if they drink the blood of a healer, then they can be outside in the sun.”

  “Oh shit,” Nick said. The worry in his voice was very palpable.

  “Yes, and we all know what that means if that happens,” Mike replied almost excitedly, relieved that we finally understood what he was trying to tell us.

  “They’ll be everywhere, we won’t be able to hide. It’ll be pure hell on Earth,” Kimberly said with a slight tremor in her voice.

  “There wouldn’t be an Earth left,” I mumbled.

  Because Mike’s grandfather had also said that, unless the six could stop the vampires, there could be great devastation. And as much as I loved my friends, I didn’t know if we had the strength to stop something that was pure evil.

  Chapter 9

  My little dramatic announcement, followed by my theatrical dream reading, set the mood in the car for the next couple of hours. No words were spoken, except when someone requested a quick bathroom break or moaned about starvation. I felt awful for being the reason everyone was on edge, but they had to know what I saw. Not only were my two friends—the protectors—now aware that Kimberly was the one who needed to be looked after, but it also calmed Mike’s fears about his grandfather’s safety.

  “I can’t take this silence anymore,” Kimberly finally spoke up, as if she read my mind.

  “I can,” Mike grumbled with a yawn. “I was almost asleep.”

  “How can you sleep at a time like this?” Kimberly asked, sounding completely appalled that he was actually trying to take a nap.

  “Easil
y. I just shut my eyes and drift off to dreamland,” Mike answered drowsily.

  I snorted. “I’m jealous. Let’s hope your dreams are better than mine.”

  “Oh, you have no idea,” Mike said through a yawn. “The other night it was about the dad of one of my students. He was wearing this pair of jeans that I would have loved to peel his tight ass out of. With my teeth.”

  “Is this the same dad you’ve had a hard-on for all year?” Nick quipped from the driver’s seat.

  “Sure is. Fuck, why does he have to be married? He’s such a sexy hunk of man to be wasted on a vagina,” Mike said sadly.

  “Fuck you. I have one of those.” I reached behind me to punch Mike in his arm.

  “Yeah, but you don’t count,” Mike grumbled as he rubbed his arm. “And neither does Kimberly.”

  “How so?” Kimberly asked with a laugh.

  “Because you two are just,” he gestured between us as if trying to find the correct wording, “you two. I don’t see you guys as anything but my friends. So the fact that you have a vagina doesn’t even cross my mind.”

  “Can you please stop saying vagina? That word is disgusting!” Nick practically gagged from the front seat with a shudder.

  “Would you prefer me to call it something else? Pleasure channel? Hot man cave? Penis tunnel? The black hole?” Mike listed to annoy Nick further.

  “Fucking quit it! I’d rather you not even talk about that thing. It’s gross.” Nick blanched beside me.

  Kimberly and I laughed at the bickering between the two, and I felt the tension that blanketed the car slowly dissipate. The fact that we might be in the middle of a paranormal smackdown was enough to put all of us on edge. We all handled the news differently.

  I glanced at Kimberly in the rearview mirror and saw that her eyes were still red and puffy. Even though she was the most levelheaded of the group, she was clearly the most sensitive. Not that it was a bad thing. She was always able to find the correct words, no matter what the situation was, to bring peace and comfort to whoever needed it. Her sensitivity and ability to express her emotions not only made her an amazing friend to have, but also gave her what she needed to be a healer. Without her, our friend wouldn’t be alive.

  Mike was our comic relief. His snarky remarks and innuendos were definitely a welcome distraction when the conversations got too heavy or sappy. Not saying that he wasn’t capable of a serious conversation, but there was only so much he could take before he desperately needed a subject change. With just a few words, he could have our group doubled over in laughter until we were in tears, but when the time called for it, he stepped up to the plate. Case in point was the night he saved our lives.

  Then there was Nick. Nick could hold his own when bantering with us and easily dish it out as well. But when shit hit the fan, he was the one who stepped up and took control. His domineering presence and ability to remain calm under pressure made him the perfect alpha. And I was grateful that he was there to protect, not only Kimberly, but all of us.

  As for me? I wasn’t too certain. Maybe it was my innate ability to be so empathetic. For some reason I’d never understood, I fed off other people’s emotions. Just being in their vicinity, I could pick up on their moods and instantly become affected by them. While it was draining, it helped me understand what they were going through. And maybe being an empath opened my mind up to become a seer.

  I sat in the car silently as I brooded. The more I speculated about each of my friends and pondered our differences, the more I realized that Mike’s grandfather might be right. We were a group of four with our own remarkable abilities, and not just our supernatural ones. We were unique within the dynamics of our group as well. And it was because of our differences that we fit. We were each other’s missing pieces of the puzzle. And we needed each other to be complete.

  “I’m surprised you guys aren’t freaking out more,” Mike mused and snapped me out of my deep thoughts.

  “Freaking out about what?” Kimberly asked absently as she picked at a fingernail.

  “Do I really need to list them off? The fact that Nick and I turn into wolves? Or the fact that we were attacked by vampires? Or how about the fact that you can heal people, Kimberly, and that Courtney has visions?”

  Kimberly took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m not going to lie. All of this has been very unsettling.” I nodded at her words. Though I wouldn’t say it was “unsettling.” It was pretty fucking terrifying. “But I’m not sure; it’s almost as if things make sense now.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked as I turned in my seat to look at her.

  Kimberly shrugged and turned her head to look out the window. Being the center of attention like that obviously made her agitated. “Ever since that night happened, the night you dreamt about, I’ve just felt off. And I never knew why. And now I do.”

  “She’s right. The dreams started right after I moved here. They weren’t anything as vivid as what I’ve experienced since yesterday, but they were unpleasant and different. Or they would just show something I’ve never seen before, like the book. And honestly, after seeing a vampire at my house, watching you turn into a wolf wasn’t that scary,” I told them.

  We all shared a quick laugh at that comment and then turned our focus to Nick. We were anxious to see what he had to contribute to the conversation.

  “Don’t look at me. I’ve always had pent-up aggression and emotional angst that I take out on my punching bag. Now that I know it was a dormant wolf waiting to be unleashed, I’m pissed that I wasted so much money on therapy.”

  Nick caused us all to laugh again and the atmosphere in the car felt much lighter than it had in hours. I just hoped that the next few hours didn’t bring any more visions. Hopefully that book held a secret on how to control them.

  After a few more stops to fill up the car with gas, get food, or use the bathroom, we finally made it to Maine. What would have been over a five-hour drive, Nick cut down significantly with his heavy foot and incredible sense of direction. We made it way before dark, and I felt marginally better about dropping in on Mike’s unsuspecting grandparents.

  “So where is the house?” Nick asked as he navigated through the neighborhood Mike directed us to.

  “Turn right at the next stoplight, go down for three blocks, and it’s the last house on the left. It’s a two-story white house with three pillars in the front. There is a birdbath in the front yard and the mailbox has a sunflower painted on it,” I heard myself say.

  “How in the fuck do you know that?” Mike asked in astonishment. His surprise indicated that I was right in my description.

  “I have no fucking idea. It just popped into my head,” I said with a shaky voice.

  It was the truth, though. The minute Nick asked Mike about the house, visions of his grandparents’ house filled my mind. It was as clear as a high-definition television.

  Nobody said anything as Nick followed my directions and we pulled up to the house I’d described perfectly. We slowly piled out of the car and Mike led the way up the brick sidewalk. It really was a lovely house, and I’d done a pretty damn good job at depicting it.

  “Well, it’s about time you lot got here. What took you guys so long?” Mike’s grandfather said by way of greeting as he swung open the front door.

  We all stood there in stunned silence. He was expecting us? How? Mike hadn’t called his grandparents to let them know we were on our way.

  “Get inside and head to my study now,” his grandfather said as he ushered us inside. “It appears as if the war has started.”

  Chapter 10

  “I’m happy to see you too, Grandpa,” Mike said sarcastically as we walked in the front door.

  “Not much time for pleasantries when there are vampires after your friend,” Mike’s grandfather said, then started to lead us through the house.

  I barely had time to take in the wooden floors, family pictures on the creamy walls, or spacious rooms as we walked by. Apparently Mr. Buchanan w
as on a mission to get us sequestered in his study and there was no time for dawdling. I was kind of bummed, because I was pretty damn nosy and I wanted to study the pictures that I passed. I had high hopes of seeing a few baby Mike pictures to embarrass him about later.

  The study looked exactly how Mike had described it. It was a large, nondescript room with wall-to-wall bookshelves, a desk that looked extremely heavy, and a desk chair. There was an old-fashioned lamp with a green shade situated in one corner of the desk, and a few papers in the center. That was it. No other pieces of furniture and, oddly enough, no windows either. It was as if that room was completely off-limits to anyone but Mr. Buchanan, and he didn’t waste time with petty things like décor.

  “I cannot believe it,” Mr. Buchanan said as he paced the room in front of us, much like his grandson had done the previous night. “My own grandson is part of the Exi.”

  “How did you know that?” Mike asked his grandfather.

  Mr. Buchanan stopped his pacing and stood before us. If I’d thought Nick had a commanding presence, that was nothing compared to Michael’s grandfather. The formidable man who stood in front of us exuded strength and power. I nearly wanted to get down on my knees and worship the man at his feet, that’s how strong he appeared. Instead, I stood there quaking in my tennis shoes.

  He wasn’t overbearingly large. He stood about Mike’s height, a couple of inches over six feet, with broad shoulders. His spine was rigid and his voice held a deep timbre that commanded attention whenever he spoke. His face—even for being in what I would guess was his late sixties—showed no signs of aging, with the exception of a few lines around his eyes. And his dark hair was streaked with only a few strands of gray. But it wasn’t those features that caught my attention at all. It was his eyes.

  The minute I locked onto his shrewd, dark blue eyes, the air left my body. I felt his gaze down to my soul. As his eyes stared at mine, I instantly felt exposed, and shivered at being so vulnerable. The depths of his eyes showed me a man who had witnessed a lot of things in his life. A man who was burdened with the weight of the world on his shoulders.