Graced (8 page)

~Disagreements~

Rafael was the first to wake. But before Laura could say anything, he had gotten up and stormed off, away into the depths of the sanctuary. He didn’t even look twice at her or at Logan before he went. Laura frowned. Had something happened in the dream during their meeting with the angels?

Laura looked over to Logan, who simply shrugged. Then he pointed back at the other two sleeping bodies. Madison had started to stir, while Alexander stil lay stil . After a moment, his eyes flickered open, and Laura was surprised to find him awake before Madison.

As soon as he awoke, he looked to the spot where Rafael had been. Finding him missing, he then looked to Madison, who had woken up by now as wel .

“What happened?” Laura asked as she started over. “I saw Rafael wake up, and then he just ran off…?” She realized as she looked at her two friends that they both looked troubled. The edges of their eyes were creased, and their lips were pressed together. “What is it?” she asked again. “Is it something bad?”

“The angels,” Madison said slowly, as if trying to comprehend everything for herself, “seemed to have known Rafael from before.”

“
What
?” Complete and utter shock gripped Laura. The angels had been locked away in that terrible pool for such a long time. How could they possibly have known Rafael?

“That’s right,” Alexander nodded, agreeing. “They did not recognize him at first, but it was Gabriel e who final y noticed.”

“From where?” Logan asked. “And when?”

Alexander shook his head. “I’m not sure, myself. But as soon as the identification was made, the angels just disappeared. I would like say they
fled
, but…”

“They did not flee,” Madison corrected. “But they definitely left. They did not want to have anything to do with him, it seemed like.”

“Why?” Laura asked. “What could he have done?”

“That is not for me to say,” Madison replied. “And even if I could, I would not know where to begin.”

“Do you know what might have caused it?”

Alexander answered her this time. “We have no idea. I was as baffled when I witnessed the whole exchange as I am now.”

“But you were there for a long time,” Laura said. “That means you spoke at length before this al happened?”

“We caught a slow drift,” Madison explained. “In the dream, we were only there for ten minutes, maybe less.”

“But stil enough to have the start of a conversation,” Logan said.

“That’s right,” Madison replied. “It was focused on the repository. Rafael insisted on me being the one to bring it up once the angels came, so I did. They seemed… troubled… once mention of it was made, but admitted that such a thing did exist before they were trapped in the pool. They were not sure if it survived to the day, though.”

“But if it did,” Laura asked, “did they seem to think it would help us against the elders? Did they say anything like that at al ?”

Alexander tilted his head slightly. “They did concede that there may be certain items there that could help us. What they were, they did not say. They… did not seem happy about any of it, though.”

“And then what happened?” Laura asked.

“And then, they recognized Rafael.” Alexander clasped his hands together. “And that was it.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“Before they left, though,” Madison added, “they said to me that they would meet us next by the repository – if we find it.”

Alexander raised an eyebrow at her. “Real y? I heard no such thing.”

“Maybe it was because I was the one to bring the repository up,” Madison said.

“But then… you didn’t find anything else?” Laura asked. “About what could have happened in regards to Rafael?”

Both Alexander and Madison shook their heads.

“But he told us before he wasn’t sure of the angels’ existence,” Logan said thoughtful y. “Does this mean he lied?”

“Rafael… has a strange way with the truth,” Alexander replied. “He does not lie, straight out, but the words he says can often be misleading enough to suggest one thing while meaning entirely another.”

“You told me that before,” Laura added.

Alexander nodded. “And it stays true to the day. I do not know what happened between the angels and Rafael, and it is not for me to guess. Especial y after he has helped us so much already.”

“So what now, then?” Laura asked. “Do we wait for him to come back, or should one of us go seek him out…?”

“You saw the complexity of the sanctuary, Laura,” Madison replied smoothly. “I doubt very much one of us could find Rafael if he did not want us to. I think the best thing would be to spend the night, and then, in the morning, see whether anything’s changed. If he’s stil not here, wel – it means we should probably move on.”

“Move on? Move on to where? We don’t even know where the repository is!”

“Mmm… yes and no.” Madison tilted her head. “We know it’s in Egypt from what Rafael has said. And there, there are only a few structures old enough to have housed something like that for the many years.”

“You’re suggesting we go there blindly, not knowing where we even begin to look?” Logan demanded, sounding stricken.

Madison simply rose her shoulders in a brief shrug. “What choice to we have? Ultimately, it is up to Laura whether we go there or not. The angels – despite their reluctance to stay once realizing they knew Rafael – told us they would meet us there next time. So for them, the choice is already made.”

“That’s what we do,” Laura said slowly, nodding her head. “If Gabriel e and the others wil only meet with us once we’re there, it makes it an obvious next step. I just wish we knew what happened between them and Rafael.”

“I wouldn’t let it trouble you too much,” Alexander said in a very fatherly way, but his words were betrayed by the crease lines on his forehead. “Rafael has taken care of himself for very long, and I don’t think has seen many things that he cannot handle. This is simply another one of those, I’d bet.”

“Do you think he’l come back to us?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. It’s hard to say. The only thing we can do is wait, and see what happens.”

“Alright,” Laura agreed reluctantly. “We’l wait until morning to see if he seeks us out again. And if not… if not, wel , I guess it’l be time to move on.”

“To Egypt,” Logan said, stil sounding a bit disbelieving.

“That’s right,” Laura countered. “Where we can find the repository, and arm ourselves for the fight against the elders.”

Logan exhaled a deep, long breath. “I told you we’d do it…” he muttered quietly. “Alright. Might as wel figure out how we’d go about getting there. Unlike what we’ve done the past few weeks, we won’t be able to get away with trekking through the woods and avoiding civilization.”

“I think I can help with that,” Madison said smoothly. “There is someone I know who may be able to help us get there.”

Laura instantly turned her attention to Madison. “Who?” she asked.

“Someone I knew a long time ago. He was like a father figure to me in the first years fol owing my transformation.”

“Another
Vassiz
?” Laura asked.

Madison nodded. “Yes.”

“You don’t mean… Jacob?” Alexander asked, looking at her intently. “Do you?”

Again, Madison nodded. “I do.”

“Wait a minute,” Logan said, holding up his arms. “This is going too fast. Are you actual y suggesting we involve another
Vassiz
? One who wil likely be hostile towards us?”

“Not Jacob,” Madison said. “Not if I speak to him first.”

“But
all
Vassiz
are on the lookout for us,” Logan said. “The elders have surely spoken to every single one about us. And al would be eager to turn us in if they so much as caught a whiff of our trail. There’s no way we can trust another one of them!”

“You trusted us,” Madison told him simply, “when we first met you in the forest.”

“Yes, but… that was different. You knew Rafael, and he helped us escape from the packs coming after us. And amazingly, the two of you shared similar sentiments towards the elders as he did. There are not many others like that.”

“Perhaps not,” Madison said. “Perhaps you are right. I would not trust any others to have similar ideas about the elders as the four of us do, not even Jacob. And that could be a fault. But I think that if I speak to him first, if he sees it’s
me
who’s asking him, he’l help us.”

“Are you sure, Madison?” Alexander asked, coming over and taking her hands. “I would not want to endanger Laura, not after everything we’ve done, by revealing ourselves to another of our race.”

Madison bit her lower lip, looking from Laura back to Alexander. Laura wasn’t sure, but she thought for the first time that Madison looked a little… uncertain. But then that uncertainty quickly evaporated as Madison nodded with a renewed conviction. “Jacob would not do anything that would put me in danger. You know that. As long as I come to him first, and explain our situation delicately, I’m sure he would help us.”

“Ok.” Alexander nodded. “If you believe you can persuade him to help us, I think that is what we should do. Laura?”

“Wel , if Madison says he can help us…” Laura began, “…then I think we should try, at least.”

“But we stil need to be careful,” Logan interrupted. “We’l need to take al the precautions before speaking to him.”

“Of course,” Madison said. “I would not expect any of you to come with me when I meet him.”

“We’l be there,” Laura said determinedly. Just as Logan started to say something in protest, Laura cut him off. “Whether or not you like it, we’l be with you. We can’t have you risk yourself in case this Jacob doesn’t agree with what you say. He does not have to see us, but we wil be there with you.”

“Thank you.” Madison whispered so quietly Laura was sure she was the only one who heard. She smiled at Madison.

“Alright then,” Logan agreed loudly, snapping Laura out of her smal moment with Madison. “You said Jacob can help us get there. How?”

“He’s a pilot,” Madison explained. “A good one. He should be able to fly us overseas without the need to go through any public airports…”

“…and without the risk of being seen by any other
Vassiz
,” Laura said, finishing the sentence. “It’s bril iant! What would we have done without you?”

“Probably not gone to Egypt,” Logan said under his breath, but when Laura shot him a look, he just smiled and shrugged.

Madison laughed. “We’re not there yet, Laura. And it wil take time to plan the encounter with Jacob. We’l need to catch him sometime when he’s away from his pack.”

“Wel , where is his pack?”

“Not far from here. They’re in Portland.”

“
Portland
?” Laura felt herself grow dizzy. That was right beside her home town! How could she go back now? What if someone recognized her? What if somebody saw her? She was sure there would be pictures of her face plastered al over the community wal s of Vancouver, and it was very likely that some would have made their way over to the neighboring big city. And what if one of her friends decided to go out to Portland on a shopping spree, and recognized her there? She’d been to Portland herself, before, and seeing the familiar city would be like murder. Knowing she was so close to her family, and yet not being able to al ow herself to see them… and knowing that every eye on her might be the one that gives her away, either to the
Vassiz
, or to the police – who must no doubt have a search going on… it was too much right now. Too much, and too soon. And what about Gray? She hadn’t even thought of him since realizing she’d be going to Egypt! Could she just leave him here? Could she just…

“Laura?” It was Logan, and he was holding her by the shoulders, she realized. “Laura, relax. You’re breathing hard.”

“I am?” she asked, feeling a little faint.

“Yes.” He looked her up and down. “Come, sit down. Take a deep breath in. Good. And back out. Over here, come on. You’re alright. Everything’s ok.” Laura felt herself being lowered onto a hard rock by Logan. Blinking a few times, she slowly regained her composure. She saw that Madison and Alexander were both looking at her with concern.

“I’m alright,” she told everyone after another few breaths. “Just hearing that we’d be going back to somewhere that’s so close to my hometown took me by surprise, that’s al . I wouldn’t have thought I’d find myself back there until… wel , until
after
we’ve encountered the elders.”

“I completely understand,” Madison said soothingly. “I had the same reaction myself, the first time I went back to my hometown after being transformed. It’s completely normal to experience that feeling of…

wel , apprehension.”

“Yes,” Laura said, nodding. “That’s what it was. A bit of a shock to say the least.”

“You understand of course,” Alexander added, “that going back this way wil not be the same as
going
back
. For we have to be extremely careful not to be seen or recognized. You, especial y.”

“I know,” Laura said. “That’s what I was worried about.” She swal owed. “To be honest, it’s a bit of a relief to know that you have the same concern.”

“Of course,” Alexander said gently. “We’re al in this together.”

Logan knelt beside her. “You’ve taken on a lot of responsibility,” he said. “These past few weeks must have been absolutely torturous for you. I can’t even imagine.” He lowered his voice. “But know that I mean it when I say that I’l be there with you every step of the way. Everywhere we must go, everything we must do, you should never fear of facing it on your own. I’l be right there beside you no matter what.”

“Thank you,” Laura said quietly. “Thank you.”

~Plans~

“We have an advantage in crowds,” Alexander told Laura as they made their way through the forest. “In a crowd, we can blend in easily. None of us have a scent that other
Vassiz
can pick up on. So, if there are enough people around, we are al but invisible.”

They had left the sanctuary early that morning after Rafael failed to show up. While Laura didn’t like leaving like that, she was assured by the others that none of them would be able to find Rafael in the twisting pathways of the caves, anyway.

Laura had found Gray outside, who was now trailing after them. They were making their way to Portland, to the first big metropolitan area Laura would visit since becoming a vampire.

“And what about
me
?” Laura asked him. “The elders have shown everybody what I look like in the dream, right?”

“Yes, but you’ve changed since then,” Madison piped in. “A little makeup, a little disguise, and you’l be completely unrecognizable.”

“Hmm.” Laura had heard Madison say that before. “And what about Logan?”

“Logan?” Madison looked up ahead, where Logan was leading the way, approximately fifteen feet away from them. “The same thing goes for him. We dye his hair, and get him to walk with a limp. Who knows, maybe we can even give him a bit of a fake tan.”

Laura burst out laughing at the thought. An image of Logan with bleach-blonde hair and a too-orange tan popped into her mind, and it was
hilarious
.

“I’m glad you’re amused,” Logan chimed in from up ahead. He didn’t turn back but Laura swore that his back stiffened after she’d laughed. Which made the whole thing al the more entertaining.

“Besides,” Alexander told her, “it’s
you
they’re after, not Logan. Finding both of you would be ideal for them, of course, but they would do just fine if they only got you.”

“Not that we’re about to let that happen,” Madison said.

“Of course,” Laura noted.

“Now, the only thing we have to worry about is what to do if there
aren’t
any crowds to blend in with. In that case, any of us would stick out like a sore thumb to a
Vassiz
who might come across us. Of course, Madison and I don’t have anything to worry about ourselves, as nobody is looking for us just yet…”

“But you,” Madison continued, “would attract attention even if the others didn’t recognize you at the one the elders have shown them. A newborn
Vassiz
, one without a pack, is a novelty that few would ignore.”

“So then we stick to the places where there are crowds,” Laura said. “Walk through the streets when they’re busy, only go out during the day, that sort of thing?”

“Right,” Alexander said. “And get you disguised, of course. We wouldn’t want any of the
humans
recognizing you as the missing girl from Vancouver, either.”

Laura shrugged uneasily. She had told Alexander and Madison her worry about being discovered by one of her friends, or maybe by one of the police officers in the city. They had been amused, but didn’t think it was enough of an issue to worry too much over. Laura did. She didn’t like thinking of herself as that
missing girl
who had run away from home, but, in reality, what more was she? Not that it mattered that running away had been the only choice at the time, or that she was trying her best at the moment to do everything she could to get back home. Get back home, and be safe. Tel her family what happened – wel , maybe she couldn’t tel them quite
everything
, but at least she could see them – and stop living her life in fear of being caught by the elders or their cronies. And then go away with Logan. That would be ideal, the best resolution to everything that had happened to her recently. And she would fight to get it.

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Madison said. “Even if we change nothing about her, none but the most astute would be able to recognize her. And definitely nobody from an old photograph they may have seen.”

“What about my family?” Laura asked.

“They’l recognize you,” Madison said gently. “After al , you’re stil
you
. They might be taken aback by some of the visual changes, at first, but they’l recognize you. I know it.”

“Are you…” Laura began, “are you speaking from personal experience?”

Madison sighed, and her eyes became heavy. “Laura, you have to understand, that back when I was transformed… wel , if I had come home, let’s just say I wouldn’t have gotten a hero’s welcome. It was a different time then, compared to now. There would have been no way I could have done it.” She sighed, a deep, sad sigh. “I… kept a tab on my family after the transformation, though. As time went on, I watched them age and wither, while I stayed exactly the same. It was a difficult time.” She glanced at Alexander, who was watching her closely. “Luckily, I had someone beside me then.” She flashed him a smal smile.

“And as the years passed and took their tol , I watched as each of my family members died. One by one. First it was my father, and my mother not long after. Less than two decades later, it was my sister, and a few years after that my two brothers. I came to each of their funerals, but kept myself out of sight. Watching your loved ones die like that, and knowing there is nothing you can do, is one of the most painful experiences I’ve ever have.”

“I’m sorry,” Laura said slowly. “I didn’t realize—”

“That’s alright,” Madison said, cutting her off. “There’s a reason I’m tel ing you this. I know you’re anxious to see your family, to let them know you’re alright. And I don’t blame you. But if I were you, I would consider leaving them in peace. They already lost you once – if you show up, only to leave again, they would lose you twice. That’s not a burden you want to impart upon them, I’m certain. And being the way you are, the only choice for you is to leave them again, the second time. If you come now, or within a year, or within two – whenever we finish what we set out to do – al you would be doing is reopening old wounds. Time heals al , they say, but not even time can make a family forget their lost daughter. Not if she comes back only to leave again. And so, I don’t think seeing your family is ever going to be an option for you. For their sake, if nothing else.”

“Wow,” Laura breathed. “I didn’t… I mean, I never… considered… it like that.” A great sadness overtook her. Did this mean she could never see her family again? Could never hear her sister’s laugh, could never smel her mother’s cooking? Could never be woken up on her birthday before the crack of dawn by her parents and sister parading into her room and singing “Happy Birthday” at the top of their lungs? When Laura left Vancouver with Logan, being chased after by the packs of
Vassiz
, never once did it cross her mind that it could have been the last time she would see her family
ever
. But what Madison said did make sense. Could she real y be selfish enough to subject her father and mother to losing her
twice
?

Could she look her little sister in the eye after so long only to tel her they would never see each other again?

“I’m sorry, Laura,” Madison said. “I did not mean to upset you. The power to choose lies in your hands, of course, but I’m only speaking from experience.”

“Of course,” Laura said softly. She felt her eyes grow moist, and looked away. Up ahead, Logan was stil picking his way through the trees, keeping watch in front for any danger. She yearned desperately to run up to him and have him hold her in his arms, and tel her that everything was going to be alright. But with Madison and Alexander right there… she had to be strong. As much as she liked it or not, she had been thrust into the leadership role of their entire group, thanks to that cryptic prophecy that Gabriel e told her of. And she couldn’t al ow herself to be weak-wil ed, not in front of everybody who depended on her. Brushing at her eyes quickly with the back of her hand, she stood up straighter, and focused on the road ahead. They were stil so far from having accomplished what they set out to do, and
that
was what she should be focusing on.

“Alright,” she told Madison. “Thank you for…tel ing me.”

“Of course,” Madison said gently. “I only told you for your own good. What you do with that information is up to you.”

“Right. But – now we need to focus on getting to Egypt. And before that, on finding Jacob.”

“Perfect,” Madison said, and Laura could tel by the tone of her voice that she understood that Laura wanted to move on from their previous conversation. “Like I said before…”

Laura listened as Madison outlined her plan for meeting with Jacob. They had already gone over the plan in its entirety, in the morning while they were waiting for Rafael. But it never hurt to go over things more than once. The plan thus far was for them to check into a hotel in the downtown core as soon as they got to Portland. From there, Madison would reach out to Jacob, and arrange a meeting in a busy location the next day – the mal , or a park, or something of that nature. While she did that, Laura and Logan would disguise themselves as best as possible to avoid recognition. The trouble, if you could cal it that, would be getting Laura to the hotel
before
she had a chance to veil herself.

And the solution, as inelegant and primitive as it may be, was to simply purchase a pair of those big aviator sunglasses that would take up half her face. If nobody could see her eyes, it was unlikely anybody would recognize her. Especial y, Madison said, with the changes that had occurred over the past few weeks in regards to her physical appearance.

Laura stil felt a little uneasy about going out amongst so many people. She understood that by doing so, it meant none of the
Vassiz
would be able to pick her out, or the others, by their
lack
of a scent. With so many people around, it would be impossible for another vampire to realize that there even was somebody else who’s scent was missing in the crowds. But at the same time, the thought of so many eyes on her, al at once, made her feel a little bit exposed. And uncomfortable. No matter what Madison or Alexander or even Logan said about the aviators.

Next, assuming they got to the hotel without any trouble – a big
if
in Laura’s mind – Madison would return to give them al the location of her meeting with Jacob. They would stake out the place ahead of time, and find spots where al of them could remain while at the same time blending in with everybody else
and
avoiding any extra notice. Madison would make the suggestion to Jacob of where they had to go – the mere
hint
of a suggestion – and if he showed any signs of a recoil, she would get out of there – fast. However, if he seemed to be listening to her, and did not seem completely appal ed by what she was suggesting – as only Madison real y seemed to believe he would do – she would tel him to meet them al later that night at the hotel. But it wouldn’t be the
same
hotel that they were staying at – that would make it much too easy for Jacob to plan an ambush together with some of his pack, in the off-chance he changed his mind before coming.

That took care of the big question marks. Others were stil up in the air. They didn’t know, for example, if Jacob would agree to fly them where they needed to go
even if
he sympathized with their plans. And even assuming he would, they didn’t know
when
he would be able to do it. It had to al be planned out, as it wouldn’t be plausible to assume he would just leave with them on such short notice. But then again, maybe he would. No matter what, Laura didn’t like the uncertainty much.

But there was nothing for her to do except hurry up and get to Portland. There, they would final y get some answers, to see if they could get to Egypt to find the
torrial
repository. If it were even stil there. Yet the angels believed it to be. Although Laura was disappointed when she found that neither Madison nor Alexander had been able to get the exact location of the repository from any of them. If they knew where it was, it would have made it so much easier if they had simply
told
them where to go. As it were, they were practical y shooting arrows in the dark, hoping one would find its target.

“…and that’s how we can get to Egypt,” Madison finished. “Just like we planned.”

“Great,” Laura said. Just then, she noticed Logan motioning from up ahead for them to come to him. He had stopped, and was waiting by a thick tree. And if Laura didn’t know any better, she would have said that he looked tense.