Forbidden (Fallen Series Book 2) Read online

  I jumped off the bed like I had been burned.

  On my bed was a little piece of white paper. I gasped and picked it up, trying desperately to keep my breathing under control. I held the note in one hand and the other to my heart trying to hold myself together.

  The elegant script was Selena’s. This was the first note I had received since the funeral. I read it over again and again. My breathing becoming more labored every time I read it.

  I look forward to seeing you again. Soon.

  Chapter Five: Meeting

  Oh, dear God. Please, not again.

  I put my head in my hands and tried to breathe. My chest felt heavy; as if a piece of stone were resting on it.

  No, this cannot be happening. No, no, no! Not again!

  I realized that I would have to tell Jonathon and the others what was happening so they could be prepared. I should have told him about the other note that I had received on the plane. But I hadn’t. I didn’t want this to be happening again.

  I tried desperately to block the images of when Selena kidnapped me but they wouldn’t go away. Selena’s hand reaching for my dad’s head, my dad’s severed head, his head rolling toward me, Jonathon storming into the shack with blue fire sparkling on his hands and arms, Jonathon glorious as an angel fighting the demon Selena to save me, Selena screaming as she burned.

  The image of Selena burning haunted me. Underneath the blue fire, purple had shown through, a different kind of purple than the one that sometimes reflected in Jonathon’s fire. She must have faked the burning but her screams had been so real; remembering her shrill scream sent a shiver down my back.

  I sat down on the floor, I refused to ever go anywhere near that bed again, and began to control my breathing and thoughts. I had to have a game plan to tell them. I was worried about Jonathon’s reaction. They all assumed Selena was dead but of course I had known better after receiving the note at my dad’s funeral. But Jonathon would be mad that I hadn’t told him back when I received that note and had waited till now. Mad wouldn’t even begin to cover it. He’d be furious. I just couldn’t believe this was happening again. I guess I had thought if I ignored the note I received at the funeral then it would all go away. But of course that was silly thinking. Realizing that Selena had once again been in my room, I jumped up and ran out, smacking into Diana.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah, of course,” I said in a rushed tone, trying to cover my tracks.

  “Kylie, I’m not stupid. What’s really wrong?” she said, rolling her eyes when she spoke the first part.

  “I can’t tell you right now,” I said jumping on the balls of my feet in a nervous dance.

  “Why not?” she demanded her stone brow creasing in frustration.

  “The whole family needs to hear this,” I said looking down at my feet.

  “Oh?” she asked.

  “Do you think you can get everyone gathered in the family room?”

  “Of course, but Jonathon isn’t back yet.”

  “We’ll wait until he gets back then,” I said discreetly putting the piece of paper in my pocket.

  “I’ll go tell the others,” she said, walking way with a model’s grace, her long blond hair swishing around her waist.

  I let out a sigh. My stress level was at its maximum limit.

  I stood out in the hall way gathering my thoughts again because there was no way I was setting foot in that room again. Never ever again was I going to go in there.

  I went down to the kitchen and drank a soda hoping the sugar would help my nerves and I wouldn’t go into shock.

  I emptied the can and threw it away in the mostly empty trash can.

  The others were already gathered in the family room but Jonathon still hadn’t arrived. While the others were seated at the couch I stood against the wall. My nerves were a live wire and there was no way I could sit still long enough to tell them what was happening; I was better off standing.

  It wasn’t long before Jonathon came in. He didn’t have any blood with him and now that I thought about it I had never seen any of them drink any or where they kept it. I guessed they didn’t want to freak me out.

  Jonathon glanced around, noticing the formal gathering, his family’s confused expressions, and my own scared one.

  He spouted off something in Italian to Patrick who just shrugged his shoulders. Jonathon the turned to me, “What is going on?” he asked addressing me.

  Patrick answered for me. “We’re waiting for you to find out,” Patrick said, his eyes flickering from Jonathon to me. Jonathon gave me a panicked look. I wanted to comfort him but there was no good news coming from my mouth. He sat down next to his brother, Joseph.

  I moved to stand by the new coffee table; Jonathon had broken the old one when he brought me in from saving me from Selena, so that I was in front of them but at a formal distance. This was not going to be a pleasant conversation. But at least I had had time to think out what I was going to say and some arguments to fight back with.

  I met their confused glances with my own ‘dear in headlights’ one. I cleared my throat several times. Mason muttered something under his breath that I couldn’t hear and Amelia smacked him in the back of the head, it sounded loud in the silent room.

  I cleared my throat again and decided to just take a leap and tell them before they got any more impatient with me.

  “Well, you see,” I began, starting to sweat bullets, “There’s something I haven’t told you guys. I should have told you as soon as I found out but I was dumb and reckless and thought if I ignored it that this problem would go away. And it hasn’t.” I cleared my throat again. All seven pairs of silver eyes were glued to me. Not even Mason interrupted. I guess he sensed that this was a serious matter and not a joking one and therefore should keep his jokes to himself. Jonathon looked hurt that I hadn’t told him before the others. I felt ashamed of myself.

  “I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you guys sooner. Please don’t be mad. I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping this to myself but I was obviously wrong.” I glanced at Jonathon. He looked stressed, obviously trying to figure out what was going on, I put a block up in my mind so he couldn’t read my thoughts and the action zapped most of my energy. His look turned frustrated.

  “I wish I had told you this earlier but I didn’t. So now I have to tell you before it escalates,” I said looking at Jonathon who was becoming increasingly irritated. I took a deep breath and plunged. “Selena isn’t dead. She is alive and well and continuing to send me her cryptic little messages,” I choked out, pulling the newest piece of paper out of my pocket and setting it down in front of them on the coffee table. Something pale and fast shot out in front of me smacking against the new coffee table, leaving a dent in it. The piece of paper was gone and held aloft by Jonathon. He read it quickly and then his stone hand closed over it. When he opened his fist again the paper had turned to dust and sprinkled down on top of the immaculate floor.

  For only the second time, Jonathon looked like a true vampire. His eyes had an angry glow to them, his skin was stretched tight over the tendons in his hands, and his canine teeth had elongated to sharp, predatory, points.

  “Damn it, Kylie,” he said along with a few other Italian curse words. His words came out in a hiss around his pointed teeth. His fist smashed into the coffee table, again, breaking it for the third time in only a few months.

  I flinched away. His anger was what I feared the most. I didn’t want him to be upset with me; to stop trusting me.

  “How could you be so stupid?” he snarled through his elongated teeth, his face now only centimeters from my own. I stood stock still; I couldn’t breathe. His breath was coming out in ragged gasps; the sweet scent of his breath making me dizzy. It took most of my remaining will to not fall to the ground. For a moment, the look that was in Jonathon’s eyes made me scared, not scared for my life, but scared that maybe, just maybe, he didn’t love me. The very thought of Jonathon not loving me
made me put my hand to my chest.

  Finally, he turned away from me. His back faced me, his shoulders still shuddering in anger. Being relinquished from his gaze I took the time to look at the others.

  Amelia looked horrified but patient and understanding, Patrick looked like he was trying to invent some sort of plan, Joseph looked like he was in some sort of disillusion, Mason looked like he wanted to tempt more information from my lips, Danny looked enchanted by what I had said, while Diana looked soaked in fury, and Jonathon of course, was in a fiery state.

  Jonathon began to slowly regain control of himself. He didn’t usually have much of a temper, this was the first time I had seen him behave like this, and I hated that I was the cause.

  “We have to leave,” he said simply, turning to Patrick.

  “Leave?” Patrick asked, obviously this was not part of the plan he was coming up with.

  “As soon as possible. We have to get her away from here,” He spoke to Patrick, his back still facing me, as if he couldn’t bear the sight of me.

  “I don’t believe that leaving now is the right thing to do, Jonathon. If we do that then we are just playing right into her little game. We have to be one step ahead of her. The best way to get to her is to ignore her,” Patrick didn’t get a chance to finish what he was going to say because Jonathon interrupted with a loud growl. “Let me finish Jonathon,” Patrick said in a stern voice and a glare in Jonathon’s direction. Jonathon crossed his arms over his chest. “Obviously we need to keep watch on Kylie but we don’t need to do anything drastic. That’s what Selena wants us to do. We can’t play into her twisted little game, Jonathon, and you know it.”

  “You’re right, I suppose. But after graduation we leave. At least Kylie and I do,” He said looking at me again. The anger had melted out of his warm silver eyes, now worry and love, for me, filled his eyes. Instantly calm spread throughout my stiff body. I felt my joints begin to loosen and relax for the first time since I had begun to tell them about Selena.

  “Jonathon, where you go we go. You’re not in this alone. If the situation were reversed I know you’d do the same,” spoke his brother Joseph.

  “This isn’t your battle. I don’t expect you to fight it,” said Jonathon pacing and angrily running his hands through his hair. His hair, which was normally perfect, now stood up in a disarray around his head like he stuck a finger in an electrical socket.

  “I know. But I’m your brother and that’s what family does. We look out for one another,” said Seph.

  “She’s not after you though,” he said referring to his whole family, “And she won’t care who all she kills in the process to get to Kylie and me.” He looked each of his family members in the eye.

  “Jonathon, just shut up. We’re with you. Get that through your thick skull,” said Diana, jokingly but there was a hint of moroseness around the light hearted comment.

  “Fine,” he grunted. “How long have you known?” asked Jonathon, resigned now, turning to me.

  “Since my father’s funeral,” I whispered, remembering back to the note that had confirmed my greatest fear, that Selena wasn’t dead. Jonathon absorbed the new information and I feared his rare anger may return again. He nodded his head but didn’t make any sort of comment.

  The others faces were now tight and stressed. I felt so immensely sad that I was the cause of all this.

  They would all be better off if I left and never came back, I thought morosely to myself.

  No, we wouldn’t be, rang Jonathon’s voice in my mind.

  Yes you would be, I sent back.

  Do you not comprehend how much they love you? Even Mason would lay his life on the line to save you. You have brought more joy to this family, to your family, than you can even realize. You don’t see the affect you have on people. Poor Isaac is absolutely mesmerized by you. You’re so loved not just by me but by everyone around you, he said in my mind with absolute sincerity.

  How do you know? I sent back. I felt him mentally roll his eyes.

  Kylie, I’m a vampire. I know everything. He said.

  Well, when you put it that way… I said back with a sarcastic undertone. His mental chuckle chimed like musical bells in my head and I couldn’t help but give a small smile even in these dire circumstances.

  Patrick’s voice interrupted the mental conversation going on between me and Jonathon.

  “Alright, Jonathon,” he sighed; looking resigned but determined, “We’ll do it your way. After graduation we leave. All of us. Hopefully we can lead her away on a wild goose chase and she’ll decide her efforts are futile.”

  “She won’t ever stop, Patrick,” Jonathon said some anger returning, “The only way to stop her is to kill her,” Jonathon continued his voice now coming out in a hiss as his teeth had elongated to sharp points again.

  “Hopefully that will not be necessary. If we are lucky maybe she will expire on her own,” said Patrick looking wary.

  Jonathon growled a feral sound that made me flinch as if it was directed at me; Patrick stood his ground not batting an eyelash. “I didn’t finish the job last time. I thought I did but I was mistaken. And now she’s back and even more determined than last time. If she gets another chance to take Kylie’s life she will succeed. The only way to stop her is to kill her,” Jonathon said; pain in his eyes at his failure to take care of the problem his self.

  “You may be right but we will have to hope that it doesn’t come to a fight. A fight means causalities and I don’t want to lose my family,” Patrick spoke; glancing around at the others, me included, his words left a somber air around the room. I didn’t like the thought of losing any one in my family; in my new family. I had already lost my mother and father and I couldn’t bear to lose someone from my new family.

  Patrick stood now, clasping hands tightly together as if whatever news he was about to deliver wasn’t going to be good news; which it probably wouldn’t be.

  “We must alert The Coven,” he spoke gravely.

  “The Coven?” I asked confused. I had never heard of any coven.

  “They’re vampire hunters,” Jonathon said, his arms crossed over his chest, an irritated expression on his sculptural face.

  “Vampire hunters,” I gasped astonished. Why would we be contacting vampire hunters when the Pulmers were…well…vampires?

  “They’ve been around for as long as we have. As long as we exist they exist,” Jonathon added simply a disgusted look still on his face.

  “I must be misunderstanding something. If they hunt vampires why are you going to talk to them? Won’t they kill you?” I asked completely puzzled.

  Patrick stepped forward, a crease in his forehead. “Well, the deal made many millennia ago, was that vampire hunters are not allowed to kill civilized vampires; like ourselves. They are only allowed to hunt and kill sadistic vampires that are harming human kind,” Patrick finished his tone still grave. I processed this information and stored it away.

  “Are these vampire hunters, werewolves?” I asked; my voice timid.

  “There’s no such thing as werewolves,” said Jonathon. All the other vampires sent him a peculiar look I didn’t understand.

  “Really? Then what are they?” I asked.

  “Human,” said Patrick. I was completely taken aback.

  “Human? Just regular people?” I asked shocked.

  “Well, yes and no. They are humans, just regular people, but they are also something more. Their endurance is stronger than the normal humans, they can run faster, and their reflexes are faster than normal humans. And of course, they’ve developed their own skills for killing us that they pass down from generation to generation. It is believed that they are the offspring of humans and angels.” The thought of anyone, especially a human, killing a vampire sent a shiver down my spine and to think that they might be part angel? This was getting weirder and weirder. “I think we’ve discussed this enough for the night. We have a plan now but we are going to have to be prepared for a fight at any moment
. Tomorrow’s plan of action is to alert The Coven and any vampires in this vicinity. Everyone should be preparing. I know Selena won’t go down without a fight and there’s power in numbers. Goodnight everyone,” said Patrick leaving the room a studious expression on his face and I could tell he was still coming up with plans. He’d probably disappear to his office and spend hours coming up with different defensive and offensive tactics.

  The others stood as well and dispersed. I watched Amelia hurry after her husband.

  Jonathon was still standing there, his hand over his mouth, and a contemplative expression on his face. I felt like I should leave him alone to his inner battles and not disturb him but as I turned to leave I felt his cold hand wrap around my wrist.

  “Where are you running off to?” he asked in a husky voice, his Italian accent coming out thicker. I shrugged my shoulders. I had no response to his question. I was probably only going to meander aimlessly through the house, no way was I entering that room again, and he didn’t need to know that.

  He put his large, slender, cold hands against either side of my face. He leaned his forehead against mine. My green eyes looked up into his silver ones.

  “Principessa,” He began; his cool sweet scented breath blowing in my face, making me dizzy. “Everything will be fine. I will not let anything happen to you.”

  “I know. But there’s so much more we could lose besides me,” I said hoarsely.

  “Principessa, you are the most important thing in my life,” he hissed trying to get me to see reason.

  “So, are you saying that you’d let your whole family die if it meant keeping me?” I asked. He was silent. “I told you there’s more to lose than just me.”

  “There’s everything to lose. And principessa you are that everything,” he cried.

  “No, I am not, Jonathon. There are more people in this world than just me. If she kills me she’ll stop targeting your family and there will only be one causality and not many,” I said. I had thought this through. I would not go down without a fight but I was resolved to die if it meant saving those I loved.