Lissa Kasey - Dominion 2 - Reclamation (12 page)

I
DREAMED
that Gabe was alive again. He sat whispering sweet nothings to me, rubbing my arms, heart beating against my palm. But his voice wasnt the only one in the dream. Others bounced back and forth like a heated tennis match, which made me think of Kelly, who was talking about grocery stores.

Theyll have QuickLife and food. He needs food.”
“Stop and grab what you need.” Gabes voice was calm
and clear, but tired. I shivered in his lap. “Hes awake.” “Seiran? How are you feeling? Were going to stop and
get food,” Kelly told me.
“Healthy food,” Jamie said from the front seat. I looked up at Gabe. His eyes were the pretty green I
loved so much. “I like this dream.”
“Its not a dream,” Gabe said.
“Sure, it is. Youre dead.”
He laughed lightly and kissed my forehead. “I think you
need to take Metaphysics 101 again.”
School? The memory of Sam and all the things that
happened in school came back to me. Thankfully, I didnt
start to shake. The panic came and went, like a heavy breeze
blowing in a bad storm. I pinched myself. It didnt hurt, but I
felt it.
“Good control. I think Im getting the hang of helping
you disperse the power,” Gabe told me.
“Its like sticking your tongue in a light socket,” Jamie
complained.
“Constant static electricity from this end,” Gabe said. “Im really awake?”
“You are. And I need a shower, but youre not griping
yet.”
I adjusted myself in his lap until I could reach his neck
and started to suck on it.
“What are you doing?”
“Im going to drink your blood so I can be your focus.” “Youre already my focus.”
“No. I mean the real one, magically bound and all that.” “You are. You took my blood days ago. Before you
buried me in the ground. Dont you remember?” Gabe
rubbed my head. The short hair just felt prickly to me. I
didnt want to look at myself again anytime soon.
“Wont the Trimega be mad?”
“Planning on recruiting a bunch of vamp wannabes?”
Gabe shook his head. “Dont worry. Ill file the proper
paperwork to make you my registered focus. If Andrew
survived, hell have some explaining to do.”
A terrifying thought filled me. What if Matthew was still
alive?
“Hes dead.” Gabes grip on me tightened. “The entire
area of the barn is now a concentrated area of nullification.
Matthew Pierson is forever dead.”
“They were talking about it on the radio,” Jamies voice
called back. “Dr. Moler is checking local hospitals for signs of
Sam Mueller. And shell be waiting for us at Gabes place.” I gasped, remembering Dr. Tynsens betrayal. “Dr. Tynsen wont be serving anyone anymore,” Gabe
said as he stroked my back. “We had her on tape, offering to invite Matthew into our home. You left your recorder on. When the police questioned her, she admitted to seeking out a vampire to study head games.” He smiled at me, then kissed my cheek. “I like you being my focus. Though I
suppose now Im truly „creepy since I can read your mind.” “The Dominion will have to let us choose a new doctor
now.” Jamie leaned back to give me a comforting grin from
the front passenger seat.
I tried to smile back, but it turned into a yawn. After
stretching, I rested my head on Gabes shoulder and listened
to his heartbeat while we drove.

T
HE
weekend of my birthday was spent unpacking. Though it wasnt anything to do with lifting heavy boxes or placing furniture. Wed closed on the courtyard condo, Kelly and I ponying up enough cash for a down payment that made our rent reasonable.

A slew of Jamies muscular friends took my things from storage and moved them into the apartment. Kellys mom bought him a brand new bedroom set for his room. Hed unpacked in a hurry and never looked so happy to be free of the campus. I wondered if he was getting more trouble than he told us about.

Unpacking the books should have been easy, but most were in boxes at Gabes. Id taken a few of my favorites from him, giving him the rest of my bookcases and more reasons for me to visit him.

The walls of my new place were painted in earth tones. It felt calming. Kelly had bought a live tree, one that was supposed to grow in a pot, and put it beside the patio door. Gabe had brought me a chaise to sit beside the tree. It had already become my second favorite place to read. My first being curled up beside him.

“Theres a package,” Kelly said as he came in the door with bags of groceries. He set a small box on the counter. “Do you want me to take it to Gabe?”

They still scanned my mail, e-mail, and phone for nasty messages, though most of that had gone silent. I picked up the package and pulled at the tape. It was filled with packing peanuts. A letter sat on top. I flipped it open and read the handwritten scrawl:

You were right. I’m sure you know that. I’m so sorry. I hope someday you’ll forgive me.
Sam
P.S. I heard you were looking for this. I hope it makes up for some of the pain you went through.

I dumped out the packing peanuts, and a bundle of white thunked out. My heart beat faster. Unwrapping it in a hurry, I left pieces of bubbles and tape on the counter. Kelly came up beside me.

Tears formed in the corners of my eyes. I rushed to my room to pull a long box out from under my bed. The shattered pieces of doll head inside had once looked like this. I put the doll together, even taking time to adjust the strings. By the time he was complete and dressed, Gabe stood in the doorway staring at me with questions on his face. The note was in his grasp, so obviously hed read it.

“Everything okay?”
“Im good,” I told him. “Wanna go skiing?”
He smiled, crossed the room, and kissed me.

in creative writing, and collects Asian ball joint dolls that look like her characters. She has two cats who enjoy waking her up an hour before her alarm every morning and sitting on her lap to help her write. She can often be found at anime conventions masquerading as random characters when shes not writing about boy romance.

Visit Lissa at her website:
http://lissakasey.com
, Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/parisbvamp
, Goodreads: http://www.
goodreads.com/author/show/4904483.Lissa_Kasey, as well as Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=
1186894710
.