Only The Poets - Marc E. Bassy
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God, I haven't worn a coat in months.
It felt like switching from an entirely different earth back to reality. A week had gone by and there was no word from Christian. Not to me nor to Jackie. Settling back in was easier said than done. I hadn't been in my apartment for well over six months, it looked bare. There were hardly any pictures, hardly any memorabilia. I made it so I wasn't attached; so it was easy for me to bounce from one country to the next for work.
I'd walked in last week and almost wished we were back in my little apartment in Cairo, at least that place had character.
Cal had taken permanent residence in my small room since we came back. Kate went back to her house to sleep but was practically with me every other day. If not her then Micah and now Joe. And then there was Nathaniel and Jackie hanging around Burnaby for a while to make sure everything was okay.
It was getting a bit out of hand, they had lives to get on with; I didn't want them putting everything on hold just because a few vampires were after me. Plus, by now I'm sure they would have caught up.
I leaned against my two year old Lexus hatchback and watched as the school kids ran to their parents or made their way to the school bus at the end of the street. Then two very beautiful girls I was proud to call my nieces came out the doors. They were chattering away, Anna's red hair tied into a messy bun atop her head. I smiled knowing full well Evie probably wouldn't have sent her out the house with that messy head of hair.
Amelia's little face frowned before she was nudged in the arm by a boy. Our friend Celia's boy, Jonas. The three Dhampir's stood out among the rest of the school kids, their vibrant eyes, and their stunning smiles.
Eight year old Jonas noticed me first. He pointed me out and the girls audibly gasped.
"Aunt Chelsea!"
"When did you get here?"
"Mommy didn't say you were coming back yet."
"Same, neither did mine."
As the two seven year olds threw question after question at me before tackling me with kisses and hugs, Jonas rolled his eyes and waved his goodbye as he met his mother parked on the other side of the road.
"I got back a few days ago, I wanted to surprise you both. In the car, we'll meet your moms and we'll go for something to eat together."
The girls hopped with excitement and bundled into the car. I drove the half an hour up to Belcarra and parked up beside Evie's car. Mia popped out faster than Anna and embraced her mother tiptoeing a kiss to her cheek.
Amy's honey eyes lifted to meet mine and she smiled. "Picking them up okay?"
Meaning, did anyone follow me? Anyone try to snatch the kids? "It went fine."
Evie and Anna walked hand in hand together into the woods before she kissed the top of her head and watched Mia pull her away.
"Don't ruin that t-shirt please!" She yelled just before they disappeared together. "Took me two days to get the stains out of her favourite dress."
I smiled. "Are they messy?"
"No, no... sometimes." She rolled her eyes. "They're learning, they're young."
Amy strolled beside me with a sigh. "So, any news on Chris?"
I looked back and forth at my two best friends and shrugged. "Nah."
From the corner of my eye I could see them glancing at one another. I hadn't really told them much about what we'd gotten up to other than we'd spent four or five days monopolising each other's company. But that didn't mean Kate or Cal didn't say anything.
"You've been holding it in long enough," I said. "What's been said?"
"Honestly, not that much." Evie replied with a funny smile. "Katherine may have mentioned you'd fallen victim to Christian's oh so tempting charms. She didn't tell us anything other than that."
"Personally, I wanted to hear it from you." Amy chimed.
"Same. We expect no details to be left out, we deserve to know after all you did keep us pleasantly in the dark about Cairo."
I paused with a groan. "For your own safety of course."
Evie folded her arms over her chest. "Well, that was stupid because you know we would have helped."
"Yeah I know you would have helped, hence why I kept you out of it. We all know you can hold your own in a fight Evie but I can't even imagine Amy running around trying to kill a vampire."
Amy grumbled under her breath before voicing it. "I could learn."
"But you don't need to learn." I stressed watching as their half human girls ran at an extremely unhuman speed around the forest, giggles resonating and bouncing off the trees. "You're mothers, you have a family to lookout for I don't need you getting involved in any of this."
Their faces the perfect frowns even after they finished hunting. Anna bounced beside me with a smile – a messy one – and Mia joined her whipping out a few tissues and handing them to her. Evie and Anna returned mumbling to one another sort of like Anna and Mia were doing earlier before they grinned at me. At least their faces weren't messy.
"Come to mine," Evie threw over her shoulder. "We want to hear everything."
So back at Evie's house, the girls went upstairs to do their homework whilst I told them the things I'd missed out the first time. From kicking him in the balls in my Cairo apartment to slapping him in the airport in Dubai. At least it ended the same way it started... me inflicting pain.
Amy and Evie looked between one another, clearly deciding who should go first. I simply rolled my eyes and waited.
"Honestly," Evie started. "I have no say in reckless behaviour after the shit I've been through so you going after him isn't my chapter of expertise."
"It is, however, mine." Amy quickly inserted with a frown. "What good will it do going to the Steinsson's or trying to find Christian."
I lightly shrugged. "I feel like I'm just sitting here waiting for the worst to happen. Am I supposed to idle or carry on running for the rest of my life?"
"But once again, I ask what good will it do you going to them."
I could see Evie watching me, narrowing her eyes as a small smile lit her lips. Between the both of them they were the perfect tag team. Amy the over-thinking, ask questions before shooting kind of girl. Then there was Evie, almost as reckless as me, team leader. She was a mixture of Amy and I. Which made her the perfect reader.
"She's going to find the man she cares about Amy. We both know how that feels. After all, he is her maker."
Amy's attention thwarted from me momentarily to Evie. "Wouldn't the fact he is her maker make this plan even more so... thoughtless? You named the types yourself, Chels: worship, love and hate. He hasn't released you, your feelings for him are ten times more than they should be."
Evie shook her head full of red hair and leaned forward. "I disagree. Remember what I said after she turned?"
"What did you say after I turned?"
"That was almost seven years ago things have clearly changed."
I frowned. "Guys, what did you say after I turned?"
"Evie noticed your unusual hostility toward Christian... continued to notice it even a few years later. We know you didn't like him but the indifference even to Mike and John was a bit different. We know you blamed Christian for what you are today, we knew you blamed us too but that's not important right now," She quickly said when I went to disagree. "Skipping to the point, your relationship was barely platonic which was uncommon and what Evie's trying to say is... your feelings for him are real not any of this maker-protégé stuff."
"But Amy only believes the facts." Evie said.
"I'm a scientist, of course I believe the facts." She defended.
"The fact of the matter is," I interrupted before they started arguing. "Whatever feelings I have are not important right now. This is about Christian being out there and clearly making dumb decisions."
Evie started laughing. "No, this is definitely about you going out to find the man you're falling in love with, don't play us girl, we're not stupid. And don't start saying you can't fall in love in five days. I've seen crazier things happen."
Amy giggled under her breath so I glared.
"I'm going to throw you some advice."
"I didn't ask for advice, Evie." I grumbled.
"I'm throwing it so catch it if you want, it's up to you. Chase Christian all you want, I have no say in that. I spent two chapters of my life getting up to all kinds of mischief this chapters all yours." Amy snorted and Evie smacked her arm. "But make sure you go in with a plan. You clearly can't kill this high amount of power, maybe you can... control it. And if you need me Chels, I'm here for you."
Amy took my hand and squeezed. "Same for me."
I stared at my two best friends, at my family, and smiled. Moms or not they would be there for me whether I asked them to or even if I didn't.
Michael, Evie's gorgeous husband strolled in with books in his hands and pecked Evie's head. "I wasn't listening to any of that but if you wanted me to be listening then I'm here for you too."
I lightly chuckled. "Thank you, Mike."
**
Back in my apartment, I sat in my kitchen alone – Callum and Joe feeding – just thinking. Thinking up a plan. Because they were right, what use would I be in this situation? How could I help Christian when he was barely helping himself?
What could I possibly offer them that could be better than a nine hundred year old vampire?
"Think, think, think." I sighed.
Better than a nine hundred year old vampire.
My doorbell rang. I moved slowly and quietly, my hearing sharpening to hear a human heartbeat. Could it be Dante?
I glanced through the peephole and exhaled the breath I didn't realise I'd been holding. "What?"
"Open the door, stop being an ass."
I opened it and returned the kitchen suddenly feeling tired. "What do you want, Kate it's midnight."
She was in a pair of light joggers and a tank top. Practically looked like she rolled out of bed, she probably did judging by the messy braid. She dropped down opposite me with a heavy sigh and said, "Honestly, it doesn't look like you're going to stop thinking about any of this until you get what you want so I'm going to... reluctantly... help you. Micah saw it happening this way too, I just hope you don't get hurt-"
"Hurt? What are you talking about? Did you see me get hurt?"
She waved away my question. "Alright, okay you need a plan. I can give you your plan because I can see the future. And because Micah can see it a little better than me he gave me an even better plan. It's not going to be easy. It's going to be pretty fucking hard, terrible and scary but you're sure as heck not doing it alone, understand?"
A smile started at the corners of my mouth as I leaned back smugly. "Knew you'd come around."
"Shut up. You ready to hear it?"
"More than ready." I grinned excitedly.
**
I wanted to throw up. Could vampires throw up?
Kate looked pretty scared herself. So did Callum and Joe who'd arrived just in time to hear this brilliant plan.
"I can't believe this." I murmured. "This is dangerous."
"Yes it is." She confirmed with a frown. "Everything about this idea is dangerous. Every part of it is dangerous. But it's the only one I have."
We all sat in complete silence, the realisation of what was to come slowly sinking in. "And you think doing this could get us somewhere?"
"The Steinsson's want Christian because he is an old powerful vampire. They like power. Like Evie said to you earlier we should find that power and use it to our advantage and yes I was watching you three gossip. Most vampires have heard myths about the first vampire and the witch that made him or her, Christian's makers."
The Harewell Sisters.
Kate looked between all of us before admitting, "I have part of an idea but the rest of it only his makers could help me with if they, well, choose to help me of course."
"Christian told me about Constance but he didn't know the witches name. Doesn't even know if she's still alive."
"You know her name?"
I nodded. "He told me the story."
Kate started smirking. "You two are too cute. But anyway, we find them we figure out the rest."
"Right, so," Cal stepped away from the counter. "You want us to find a vampire probably as old as time and one of the most powerful witches ever to exist, whom we also don't know if she's even alive. That about sum it up?"
"Pretty much." I chimed in.
Silence once again ensued, Joe remaining quiet on his side of the room. Honestly it sounded a little bit like suicide. Because it wasn't a plan it was ¼ of a dumb idea. But I trusted Kate and she knew what would come of this... hopefully.
"I'm in."
All eyes turned to Joe as he started smiling. "Why not? Nothing fun happens in Ukraine."
I stood. "I can't ask you to do this."
"You're not. I'm offering. More fun this way." He shrugged.
"I'm down too. Not much has happened in the last seven years," Cal shrugged. "Might as well."
I looked between the three of them, their friendship meaning more and more to me as the minutes ticked by. Sure, this was mad even for me. But I know this is what Evie did to help Michael out once upon a time. She found Florence's maker to save him.
So I guess I'll have to do the same, whatever outcome this will have only time will be able to tell.
"What about seeing me get hurt?" I reminded her.
"That could be the future but it's getting dimmer and dimmer so I wouldn't worry too much about it."
"Well, okay then." I clapped my hands together and inhaled a deep breath. "What's our first move then el capitan?"
"To find out where the heck they are and to do that we'll need your blood."
"Say what now?"
"We start tomorrow! I'm going to bed, see you bright and early."
I watched incredulously as she made her swift exit and groaned. And so it begins.
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YAS. I have my final plot point and I am stoked, can't wait to see how it ends, omg. This is just the beginning guys so excited WOOO. It came to me in a dream.