Enemy Within (Vampire Born Trilogy, #2) (4 page)

“Lijepa helped her,” Jaren points out.

“Yes, she did.” Mirko laughs with both happiness and sorrow dancing within the notes. “But Lijepa was different. Doing what was right always trumped her loyalties. It takes great courage to be able to do that. No matter how much Lijepa loved and respected Zladislov, she took to Brooke. It was special between them. The world would’ve been better if Lijepa were still here. Many people say that after the loss of a loved one, but with Lijepa it extends beyond those who knew her. The world would really have been a better place had she stayed in it.”

“How so?” Jaren asks, and I imagine his eyebrows dipping like they do when he’s curious.

“Pijawikas have more reach into the lives and dealings of humans than you’re aware of. She put her nose in situations humans needed her to, and not only the ones between Pijawikas and humans, but also human and human. She was the Pijawikan version of Mother Teresa.”

It’s really quiet for a while, but neither of them leaves. My heart hurts. Lijepa said I was special, but she was the special one. She did more for people than I ever have. Or will ever get the chance to. How different would things be if Lijepa were still alive? Would she have been able to convince my father not to harm me? I bet she would’ve tried.

I tune out the rest of their conversation and mourn Lijepa. My brain recesses after that. I’m not sure how long. My sense of time is completely handicapped. But awareness of someone close brings me back.

A draft of cinnamon and cedar wafts over my face.

Ahhh, Mirko.

When I was little, my mom would make me a cinnamon pancake for breakfast every morning. I would grab it and head out back, into the Oregon woods where we lived. I crunched leaves and twigs underneath my feet, and that comforting smell of cedar and cinnamon is what Mirko reminds me of.

“I’m not sure you can hear me or not. Some of the Zao Duhs who went into a spavati remembered hearing the people around them. Others didn’t. But if you can hear me, I want you to focus really hard. Listen for the sound of my heartbeat.” He pauses for a moment, and even holds his breath. He inhales and then says, “Can you hear it? It beats for you. You’ve given my life a new purpose, Slatki. From the moment I saw you, my heart beat to a different rhythm. Your rhythm. Listen to it.”

I do. It’s more than a dull thump-thump in my ears. It has an undertone of sweetness I’ve never heard before. A melody that soothes me.

“Sometimes when I’m lying in bed and I can’t fall asleep because I’m thinking of how cute you are when you’re mad and how I can get you riled up like that again, I listen to my heart. I hear it calling for you.

"There’s a legend Pijawikas have where they believe your soul is only an extension of your true self, and that you can’t find your true self until you’ve found all the connections to your soul. It’s one reason why they believe they live so long. So they can find their connections.

“I never believed it. Especially because they said it only applied to Pijawikas. But why not us? Why not a human turned into something else, or simply a human? We’re all the same. We hurt, we laugh, we love. All of us bleed. We all have a soul. But I think the legend was onto something. The only way I can describe what it feels like to love you is to compare it to this legend. When I touch you, when I hold you, you feel like an extension of myself. I’ve been through some terrible things in my life, but I can’t think of anything that would hurt me more than losing you. I know I said I would give you time, but we don’t have time, Slatki. If you or I die tomorrow, I want to know you chose me. And if you don’t—which I’m fairly confident you will—but if you don’t, I won’t abandon you. I’m here. As your heart or your shield, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll see you through anything. Through everything.”

I reach my arm out to touch his face, but my body doesn’t respond. I’m frozen.

Please, eyes, open.

Tongue or jaw, move.

Please.

I lie still, as if comatose. I ache to touch him, to look into his eyes, to speak to him. I need to tell him I love him too. His words mean so much to me, but I can’t communicate it to him.

He wanted me to hear him too. He didn’t say those things to keep the quiet away while I slept. He prompted me before he spoke, hoping I’d hear him. And I’m beyond grateful I did.

“Please wake up,” Mirko pleads with me.

I struggle to for a bit longer until I finally fall back under from exhaustion.

CHAPTER THREE

Mirko

I can’t believe it. The punk specifically went against my orders and brought Kaitlynn over. “I told you not to call her.”

Jaren turns on his heel and pushes me.
“I’m sick of you acting like you’re the only one who knows anything. Kaitlynn’s a big girl and I’ve already warned her things could go bad when Brooke wakes up. She chose to come anyway. You know why?”

The wiseguy stares at me like he expects me to answer his rhetorical question. He’s pissed and it’s nice to see him finally grow a backbone. I would rather it not involve risking Kaitlynn’s life, though. I have to give him credit for standing up to me, so I let him get away with talking in my face.

“No matter what it is, Kaitlynn and Brooke are always there for each other.”

No surprise there. I noticed how tight their bond is, but it isn’t like Kaitlynn can do much for Brooke in her current state.

He continues. “But you wouldn’t know anything about that. You have no clue.” His smug laugh fills the room and grates on my nerves. “All you know is a girl trying to stay alive. I bet you didn’t know that her favorite meal of the day is lunch, or that when she wakes up at three in the morning and has to pee, she’s too scared to get out of bed because she believes it’s the devil’s hour. I bet you don’t even know how she got that nasty scar on her knee, either.”

I glance over at the bed as if I might see through her blankets. I’ve seen the scar he refers to. I’ve stroked my fingers across the delicate ski, and wondered how she got it, but I never did find out.

“The boy next door was teaching her how to ride a bike. He wasn’t spotting her, nor did he tell her how to slow down or how to brake. She crashed into a concrete wall. And I bet you don’t know that to her the scar doesn’t represent a lesson gone badly. Nope, not even close. You wanna know what she thinks of when she sees the scar?”

I can’t speak. The urge to punch Jaren in his mouth almost overwhelms me, but he is on the verge of telling me something important about Brooke. At this point, I have to know.

“Every time she looks at it, she’s reminded that she didn’t have a dad there to teach her how to ride a bike.”

The tight muscles in my jaw relax. The situation with her dad is hard on her, but I had no idea it went that deep.

“Yeah,” Jaren says, “I’d like to see you fix that one.”

I don’t know how to fix the situation with Zladislov. I’m not sure it is fixable.

“That’s what I thought, so until you do fix it, or until this situation is over, Kaitlynn will see Brooke whenever she damn well pleases. And I’ll be right here, waiting for you to mess up. Because you will. You’re new to her. Exciting. But you don’t know her like I do.”

I can’t hold back any more. I smile—even laugh—and he takes a hesitant step back. “The only thing you have on me is you’ve known her longer. But if you plan on waiting around until I mess up, you’d better be prepared to die old and alone. I don’t mess up. Especially where Brooke’s concerned. And I certainly don’t push her away when things get weird. She may forgive you for that, but she’ll never forget. And that is something I know about Brooke you didn’t.” I take a step closer to him. “Something she didn’t have to tell me.”

Kaitlynn steps between us. “All right, boys. Stop it. I think you’ve had enough posturing for one day.” She gives Jaren a pointed look and then focuses on me. “Thanks for your concern for me, but don’t ever try to keep me away from Brooke. Do you understand? That is my girl over there, and if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I’ll claw your pretty little bedroom eyes out.”

Kaitlynn has spunk. I can see why she and Brooke get along so well. They’re both willing to claw someone’s eyes out for the other. However, I need Kaitlynn to realize the merits of my decision in keeping her away. “I have no doubt you’d risk everything to be here for her. But did you consider what it would do to Brooke if you did have to risk it all? If she wakes up and attacks you? If she feeds on you until the light in your eyes goes out?”

Her face sours.

“That image would burn so deep within Brooke’s memory, she’d never be able to forgive herself, let alone move on.” I speak from experience. “You don’t know what it’s like in this world. I’m only trying to steer you into it as gently as I can.”

Kaitlynn swallows and nods. “Thank you. It’s cool how much you consider Brooke in everything, but do you think from now on, you could talk to me? Maybe tell me what’s going on and why you’d not want me around? I may be young, but I love Brooke and want what’s best for her. At the same time, I don’t want to be pushed out of her life, either.”

Her eyes plead with me. She and Brooke have so much in common, and because it reminds me of how Brooke looks at me when she really wants something, I relent. “All right. I’ll work on keeping the communication with you open. And you’re fine to see her as long as I’m in here with you, but as soon as she wakes up, you need to leave.” Considering how deep Brooke sleeps, I figure we have a few more days before she wakes.

Kaitlynn surprises me with a hug. “Thank you.” She releases me and walks over to Brooke’s bed, concern woven in her expression. “Oh, Brooketown. Look at your poor face.” She sits in the chair next to Brooke’s bed, and her breath comes short and fast, eyes watering. “I’m glad you made it out of there alive. I was so scared.” Her sun-kissed hair falls in front of her face as she bends down and wraps her arms around Brooke’s still body.

Brooke’s fingers twitch toward Kaitlynn.

I squint, not sure of what I saw.

No, I saw it, but I can’t believe it. Kaitlynn is bringing Brooke back.

Brooke’s foot slides across the bottom of the bed, causing a wave in the covers.

“Kaitlynn, you need to move away now,” I say.

She sits up and stares down at Brooke. “Brooke?”

A hoarse, scratching growl leaks from Brooke’s throat.

I jump to Kaitlynn and nudge her out of the way.

Brooke opens her eyes, but they’re cloudy and unfocused.

“Jaren, take her out,” I command as I push Kaitlynn farther behind me.

Brooke tilts her head toward me and this is when her eyes focus—on my throat. She snarls and lifts her head slightly, as if the quiver in my neck’s artery calls to her.

A deep rumble echoes within the room, rising and falling with the beat of my heart, stemming from Brooke’s chest. She is a Pijawika in their most primal state. All conscious thought is gone, leaving only the survival instinct of a hungry beast.

I step back slowly, giving myself room to maneuver when Brooke makes her move, and I bump into Kaitlynn. Why haven’t she and Jaren left yet? I push hard behind me. Kaitlynn’s body takes the impact and flies back. That’d better be the nudge they need to run.

Brooke jumps onto the bed and rests on the balls of her feet, knees bent—a classic prestrike pose. I couldn’t have taught her such good form over the course of our training together. This is all instinct. Raw, killer instinct.

I straighten my shoulders and puff out my chest, slowly shaking my head left to right, and glare down at her. It’s a warning, a subtle and assertive warning.

She hesitates and leans back on her heels.

Good, she’s backing down.

But then her lip curls, and she leans forward again.

I’m amazed with her balance, but at the same time petrified at the dominance of the beast within. My confidence in handling the situation wavers.

“Leave!” I order as Brooke pounces. She lunges at me with strength she never possessed before.

I swipe at her, grabbing the base of her neck with a single hand, and throw her to the ground. I land on top of her, but she grabs my forearm and uses the momentum to pull me off and rolls on top of me.