Darkest, BK 2 of Lightwalkers (completed)

III

Seth

I stared at the screen, peering closely at the letters as the light stung my eyes. The glow from the LEDS on the towers and from the multiple screens were only light in Jon's room. It was early enough in the morning that the sun hadn't come around to his windows yet. I pulled my headphones off and ran a hand through my hair.

Nothing. I couldn't find anything about Orion's Order online, or Michaela. And forget about searching the word 'vampire'. All you got was all the Hollywood and weird cult stuff. I slumped forward over the keyboard, rubbing my eyes as I fought off another blinding headache.

My first instinct had to been to ask Bryson about the Order. I'd been planning on it. But he now wouldn't return my calls. He'd sent me home last week saying that I should get some rest, and to call if I needed anything. That he'd take care of getting in touch with the Order. That had been the first and last time I'd seen him.

I reached for my phone, turning the display on. No messages. I tossed it back in disgust. God, Jon. What was I supposed to do?

My phone rang, doing its little buzzing dance. I grabbed it, answering it without even glancing at the screen.

"Hello?"

"Seth." Dan's voice on the other end didn't sound happy. Dan, my boss. From my job that I was supposed to have gone to this afternoon. Crap.

I leaned back in the swivel chair and swallowed a sigh. "Hi Dan."

"Would you care to explain why you missed your shift, again?"

Oh, he was pissed. It took a lot to upset Dan. He was the nicest of the managers at Kippy's Toys, and for a place that sold toys, it sure knew how to suck the fun out of you.

"I'm in the middle of a family-"

"Family emergency, yeah," he interrupted. "That's the same thing you've told me every time you missed your shift this week, Seth. What the hell is going on with you?"

His anger bit at me. How was I supposed to explain that vampires kidnapped my brother without sounding like a lunatic? I couldn't go to the police, so even just saying that my brother was missing at all would be risky. What the hell could I say?

"Look, I can't really talk about it, Dan. It's some really personal shit, okay?" I snapped at him. I regretted it instantly.

I reached for my father's knife. With it in my hand, I felt calmer. Saner.

"I'm really sorry to hear that, Seth. I am. But this is three strikes." He took a deep breath, but I already knew what he was going to say. "I'm afraid we have to let you go-"

I hung up on him. Fine with me. One less thing I had to worry about right now. I still had some of Mom's insurance money saved away. If I was careful, I could make it last until I got Jon back. Then I'll find another job.

My phone buzzed again. I looked at the display this time, ready to send it to voicemail if was Dan calling back to give me a piece of his mind. The number was restricted. I stared at it a moment it longer, before answering it. What if it was Jon?

"Hello?"

"Seth, it's Sam."

I sat stunned for a moment, then de-tangled myself from the computer. She never called me. I was always the one begging her for information. I knew it was annoying, but I couldn't seem to help myself.

"Seth?"

"Yeah," I stood, then began to pace. "Did you find him?"

I heard her sigh, and what faintly sounded like a chuckle in the background. "No, we haven't found him yet. But I do have some other information for you. Can you meet me?"

"Where?" I sank on to Jon's bed. They still hadn't found him, but some news was better than no news, right?

I made the arrangements to meet with Sam in an hour, down at a local restaurant close to Nick's building. Even if it wasn't the news I wanted to hear, it was still a step in the right direction. I was doing something.