Lost (The Allure Chronicles Book 3) (5 page)

I brought him back to reality. “She’s got brown hair.”

“I figured she wasn’t the same one, but the name brings back some good memories.”

“Can you help Owen?” Hailey asked. “Is there a way to stop the change?”

“This is where your details come in. I’m still confused as to how she could have become an Allure without being in love with one. That’s usually how the process works. An Allure finds someone he or she wants as a mate. They offer half their essence in exchange for companionship.”

“She was given a paste,” I replied quickly. I knew how things usually went, but Daisy wasn’t in love with an Allure. She’d been in love with me.

“What kind of paste?” Jim asked with interest.

“A magic one she got from a witch in the quarter. It was called Seduction’s Kiss.” Hailey filled in the details she now knew well. The story turned my stomach every time I heard it. Had I responded to her original flirtation at the bar maybe none of this mess would have happened. I’d been so determined to keep people out that I hadn’t even considered giving her a chance.

“And why are you involved in this?” He turned to Hailey. “Aside from familiar obligation. I know how those are.”

Dad coughed. “I’m sure you do.”

“I’m here because my brother needs help. That’s it.” She met Jim’s eyes.

Jim shook his head. “There is always more.”

Hailey didn’t give an inch. “He’s my only brother.”

“Keep going.” Jim gestured with his arms.

“And I want him happy.”

“Fine.” Jim shrugged. “You’ll fess up eventually.”

“Does it really matter why she’s here?” I didn’t want Hailey put on the spot. She’d done nothing but help me.

“No. Continue. I’ve heard of Seduction’s Kiss, but as far as I know no French Quarter witches are handing it out to tourists nowadays.”

“Daisy thought it was a hoax. A tourist trap sort of thing, but it wasn’t. She was given it years ago. She got more attention, that was it, but returning to New Orleans activated it somehow and she started to change. We were desperate and went to Georgina for help.”

“Georgina?” Jim raised an eyebrow. “Why would you have done that?”

“Because we needed help.” I chose my words carefully. If he was on the outs with The Society, he probably wasn’t best buddies with the matriarch of the royal family. “She did what she could.”

“But that means Georgina knows Allures still exist?” Jim leaned forward with his hands on his knees. “She believed you?”

“She did without too much convincing. Levi knows too.”

“The King?” Jim’s eyes widened.

“Yes.”

“How am I only finding out about this now?” Jim glared at Dad.

“I only found out about it a few hours ago. My kids evidently have been keeping secrets.”

Jim stood and began pacing around the room.

“Dragos are around too.” I figured it couldn’t hurt to get my uncle on my side.

“What?” Jim stopped his pacing and stepped into my personal space. “What did you say?”

“Dragos. I met a few. They are not my favorite, and the ones I met were incredibly arrogant.” I thought about the winged creatures that had taken us to the mountain.

Jim gasped for breath. “Where? Where did you see them?”

“Near Mount Majest. They helped us get to the Elders.”

Jim grinned. “Incredible.” He nodded his head. “Tell me everything about them.”

I had him exactly where I needed him. Invested. “After you help me with Daisy.”

“I help you with Daisy, and you help me find these Dragos.”

“It’s a deal.” Hailey crossed her legs. “What else do you need to know?”

Jim turned to me. “What do you mean Seduction’s Kiss didn’t really activate until she returned to New Orleans?”

“She always got lots of attention, but was otherwise normal until she returned to New Orleans. Then things started to change. That’s how the Allures found her. They sensed the essence and came for her.”

“Where is she now?” Jim rubbed the back of his neck. “Did they stay near Mount Majest or come back here?”

“I don’t know where she is.” That was part of what made things so hard.

“Ok, so we’re going to have to figure that out.”

I nodded. “Obviously.”

Jim frowned. “And you’re going to have to turn that attitude around.”

“What attitude?”

“Your attitude.” Hailey shook her head. “See, I’m not the only one who noticed it.”

“Whatever. My attitude doesn’t matter.”

“Sure it does.” Jim stopped pacing and stood in front of where I sat. “If we’re going to fix this problem we’re going to have to stay positive.”

I moved to standing. “You want to meet the Dragos so bad you’ll help us?”

“You’re my nephew. We’re family. That’s enough.”

“The nephew you never met.” I couldn’t forget that detail.

“Come with me.” Jim walked out of the room without waiting for an answer.

I followed, curious what he wanted to show me.

He walked into a small study and pointed to a framed set of photos on the desk. “Who is that?”

I picked up the frame with school pictures from when Hailey and I were in elementary school. “You weren’t kidding about needing to update your pictures.”

He took the frame from me. “No, I wasn’t. You’re family, and what you need help with is my life’s work. We can do this.”

“So where do we start?” I headed back toward the room where we’d left Hailey and my dad.

“In the library.”

“With books?”

“Sorry, kid. This kind of research hasn’t been digitalized yet.” He smiled.

“I mean, do you really think we’ll find our answer in books?” I stopped halfway back to the couches.

“Yes. Or at least it will lead us in the right direction.”

“Where’s the library?” Hailey asked, jumping into the conversation again.

“The basement,” Jim and Dad said in unison.

“How did you know that, Dad?” Hailey raised an eyebrow.

“Because I helped him put the room together.”

She groaned. “You’ve been keeping lots of secrets.”

Dad shrugged. “So have you.”

I
t felt good to leave
. I now understood why the Allures moved around so much. A house felt stale after a few days and started to eat at you. The numbness only grew the longer you stayed put. I’d been ready to go the minute Violet said she had an idea, but it took some time for everyone to get ready. The group didn’t have many possessions, so it wasn’t moving in the traditional way, but it took time to find a new car and make sure we didn’t leave too much of a trail. Unfortunately the effects of manipulation wear off, and you don’t want to be too easy to find after that.

We switched to a Suburban as our next vehicle. It was roomier than the last car, which was a nice change. But I didn’t quite get why we were using a car in the first place.

At least I got to sit in the front. “Is there a reason we’re driving across country again? I thought you guys usually fly when it’s this far.” I remembered Hugh complaining about it the last time.

“You’re a missing person. Your face might flag the system.” Violet accelerated to pass a car. I was getting used to her fast driving. Without fear, it didn’t bother me anymore.

“Wait. What?” I hadn’t thought of that. “My parents reported me missing?”

“You haven’t called them in a while.” Violet didn’t need to ask. I no longer even had a phone.

“Oh.” I felt a small tightening in my chest when I thought of my family worrying, and I savored the sensation.

“She’s doing it again.” Roland tattled on me from the backseat.

“It isn’t intentional.” Violet moved back into the right lane. “But it’s alarming.”

“I’m not doing anything.” I slumped down in my seat.

“You were feeling.” Roland leaned forward toward the front. “Don’t pretend otherwise.”

“Violet told me my parents reported me missing. If that didn’t get an emotional response from me nothing would.”

“But that’s the whole point.” Roland sighed. “You shouldn’t be feeling anymore. Not unless you take the feeling from someone else.”

“I’m messed up. We know that.” There was no reason to continue playing the broken record.

Violet patted my leg. “You aren’t broken. You are taking longer than normal to change.”

“I’m broken.”

“If you like that word, then sure. You’re broken.”

“We should be heading to Louie’s, not the Magic City.” Hugh munched on a bag of chips he’d picked up at the last stop. I was convinced the whole purpose was to see how loud he could possibly chew. I didn’t know it was possible to make that much noise with food.

“The Magic City?” I asked.

“It’s the nickname for Birmingham,” Violet explained. “It comes from back when the city was founded. It developed overnight. Or so they say. The growth was actually not that fast.”

“I’ve never been to Alabama,” I admitted.

“You’d never been to California either. You really didn’t travel much.” Hugh finished his chips and scrunched up the bag.

“Nope. I guess I’m making up for it now.” That was one benefit of the situation.

“We’ll do plenty of traveling. We probably should get a lot further away until your family moves on.” Violet opened all the windows in the car.

I savored the feel of the wind blowing in my face. “Moves on?”

“She means die. Violet is still treating you like a human and being careful what she says.” Hugh grunted.

“She’s still got feelings,” Violet yelled over the wind.

“None that need to be spared,” Hugh replied.

“Don’t talk about my family dying.” I got another small pang, and although feeling felt good, those kinds of feelings weren’t high on my list.

“Eventually they will. Everyone does and then you keep living.” Hugh managed to make the most twisted things sound common place. Sometimes the habit was helpful. Other times it wasn’t.

“Yes, I caught the whole immortality bit.”

“Which means you should understand what he’s saying. We need to get out of the U.S. for a while.” Violet rolled up the windows. The rush of the wind died out instantly.

“But we’re going to Birmingham first?” The small part of me that wasn’t numb wanted to stay in the U.S., and that small part had a much louder voice than the rest of me.

“Yes. I love the city.” Violet adjusted her seat back.

“She lived there as a human for some time.”

“Really?” I knew so little about Violet’s past.

“Yes. I spent much of my childhood there.”

“Really?” I turned toward her. Violet rarely opened up about her pre-Allure life, and I knew hearing about it would help ease the boredom.

“You’re not the only southerner.”

“Where are the rest of you from?” I asked, hoping they’d be as uncharacteristically open as Violet.

“Let’s save those stories for another day. You never know when you’re going to need entertainment. Don’t want to use everything up all at once.” Hugh winked.

“Because your story is entertaining?” I turned in my seat to get a better look at him. If his personality wasn’t so jarring, he would actually be attractive.

“Everyone’s life story is entertaining,” Violet adjusted the temperature. She sounded far off, as though lost in thought.

“Some more interesting than others.” My life hadn’t been very exciting at all.

“But all entertaining. All interesting, all full of little details that no one else has ever experienced. That’s what makes our Allure existences so rewarding. We get to try emotions stemming from thousands of different people. In some ways we get to live a thousand lives.” Violet sounded more excited than usual. She usually didn’t have too many positive things to say about being an Allure unless she was reassuring me.

“That’s deep, Violet.” Hugh rolled his eyes.

“What? You agree, don’t you?” She met his eye in the rearview mirror.

“It is what it is. I’ve stopped trying to analyze it because there is nothing to compare it to. It is unique in itself.” He put his arms behind his head.

“Where are we going to stay?” I changed the subject to something that actually affected me. The numbness was taking over again.

“It’s a place packed with emotions. It might be rough on you, but I think you need it. We might be able to fix the problem that way.” Violet stared straight ahead at the road.

“Like overwhelm me until things fall into place?”

“Pretty much.” Violet adjusted her hands on the wheel. “If it gets to be too much we’ll leave, or Roland can help you. He calmed you down earlier tonight.”

“In the graveyard.” I remembered his hands reaching for me.

“I know you’re fighting the desire, but I’m still connected to you. I want this to be as easy as possible.” He reached forward and touched my arm.

“Easy for who?” I sat forward in the seat, offsetting his arm.

“You. Me. All of us.”

“That’s generous of you.” I watched as we whizzed by a line of cars.

“We’re all traveling together now.” Violet said simply. “We should try to look out for one another.”

“You say ‘now’, does that mean we may split up?” I hadn’t thought about that possibility yet. Was she planning to leave me alone with Roland?

“Eventually,” Violet replied. “Once we get everything straightened out.”

“Or until I get sick of you two.” Hugh chortled.

“What did you see in Hugh?” I asked Violet.

Hugh laughed. “Real nice, kid.”

“I’m just wondering how you knew he was the one person you would give half your essence to. That had to have been a huge decision.”

“It was, and I just knew. I was attracted to him, and I felt a connection. I also knew he was strong enough to survive the change.”

“What would have happened if he didn’t?” That was something no one had talked about yet other than with me. I knew I was a unique case.

“Didn’t survive?” Violet asked.

“Yes.”

“I wouldn’t have survived.” Hugh said casually. “Simple as that.”

“And then what would happen to the other half of your essence?”

“I’d have had to wait a few decades and then try again.” Violet’s words weren’t casual. They had something else to them.

“There’s a time limit?”

“Yes. To remind you to make a better decision next time.” Violet’s expression darkened.

“But it’s not your fault if it doesn’t work, and you’ve already lost someone.” As much as an Allure can really lose. “Does the loss hurt? Can you feel it?”

“So I’ve heard.” Violet’s expression remained dark and almost pensive. “Makes the punishment even worse, huh?”

“I feel like half of being an Allure is the punishments.” My experience with the ruling authorities hadn’t been a good one so far.

“There are some of those.” Violet fiddled with the radio, and I knew she was trying to ignore me.

It wasn’t going to work. “Why were you running from the Force?” Talk of punishments reminded me of our time in the Glamour Realm.

“I wouldn’t play the game.” Violet adjusted her hand on the wheel.

“I don’t really get it. Sometimes you act like the rules are everything, but most of the time you break them.” Violet was the most confusing of the bunch.

“It’s about learning what you can get away with,” Hugh explained. “It’s simple.”

“You are the type of people I would have stayed far away from before.” I’d generally tried to avoid drama, although for some reason it always seemed to find me, no matter how hard I tried.

“You were a goody two shoes?” Roland asked.

“She couldn’t have been. Otherwise she wouldn’t have gotten the Seduction’s Kiss.” Hugh as usual thought he knew everything.

“I was usually good. Not always, but usually, and you all know the story of how I got the paste.” I turned around to glare at him.

“I still don’t think it would have worked on a good girl.” Hugh winked. He winked entirely too much.

“You just want me to be bad.” I crossed my arms.

“Not bad, naughty.” Hugh grinned.

“Hugh.” Violet groaned. “You know I hate that word.”

“Why? I don’t see what could be so offensive about it?”

“I don’t like it.” Violet spoke as though that were the only explanation needed.

“Whatever you say.” Hugh leaned back against the seat.

“We need gas.” Violet pointed to the gas gauge.

“The light is on. We definitely do.” I hadn’t checked because I wasn’t the one driving. I made a mental note to check more often.

Violet got into the right lane and took the next exit. I got out of the car to stretch while Violet pumped the gas. The guys went inside to do something. They didn’t actually tell us where they were going when they left. A light breeze made the otherwise humid heat tolerable as I waited.

“Do you know that guy?” Violet nodded over her shoulder.

I followed her gaze and saw a guy around my age leaning against his black Camaro. He was wearing a leather jacket, which seemed like serious overkill for the warm weather, and a pair of dark sunglasses. “I don’t think so, why?”

She leaned toward me. “He’s watching you.”

“Who doesn’t watch us?” Ever since getting Seduction’s Kiss I’d had to deal with that. It was even worse now. “And with those glasses on how can you tell?”

“I can tell, and it’s in a familiar way.” She stretched, and I could tell she was trying to get a better look at him without making it obvious.

I looked at the guy again, searching for something about him that would trigger a memory. Nothing. “I’ve never seen him before in my life.”

“Ok, well maybe get in the car then anyway. Just to be safe.”

“How can you be worried?” Yet another Allure thing I didn’t get. Why were some emotions present but others weren’t?

“What do you mean?”

“Worry is an emotion.”

“It’s part of self-preservation. You can’t get rid of that even when you’re immortal.” The gas pump thumped, signifying the tank was full.

“You’re lying.”

“No.” She removed the gas nozzle and put the gas cap back on. “I’m not.”

“Fine. I’ll rephrase it. You’re holding something back from me.”

She opened her car door and slid into the driver’s seat. I took the hint, taking the passenger seat again. I glanced over my shoulder. The guy who had gotten her attention had walked away from his car.

“Tell me.”

“I’m not hiding anything. It’s natural self-preservation. Those sorts of emotions can’t disappear.”

“I don’t see the point in you lying to me.” I got it when I was human, but now there was no reason for her to be trying to convince me of anything.

“I already told you—”

Violet was interrupted as the guys dove into the car. “Get out of here.” Hugh spoke calmly, which was at odds with his words.

“We have company?” Violet started the car and pulled out of the lot.

“Yes. And I am pretty sure I know what kind.” Hugh looked over his shoulder.

“Meaning what?” I turned in my seat to look at him.

“Meaning we can sense other supernatural creatures. It comes easily. I couldn’t sense this one completely, but I think I know what he is, and it’s not good.”

“Was it the guy with black hair and nearly as dark eyes?” Violet asked describing the guy in the Camaro.

“Yes.” Hugh nodded. “You saw him?”

“I felt something off, but I thought he recognized Daisy.”

“He’s following us.” Roland kept looking out the back window.

“What’s the plan? We stop and meet him head on?” I asked.

“Uh, no.” Hugh scrunched up his nose. “Are you crazy?”

“We’re Allures, what can he do to us?” I thought the benefit of immortality was you didn’t have to concern yourself with anything.

“We don’t know for sure what he is, which makes him dangerous.” Violet accelerated and moved into the left lane.

“But we’re dangerous.”

“To many, but not to everyone.” She moved the speedometer passed eighty.

“What do you think he is?” Hugh had seemed to have a pretty good idea.

“A Seer.” Violet swerved into the right lane before narrowly avoiding colliding with a red van.

“A what?” That was an unfamiliar name. There were so many unfamiliar names.

“They can tell who and what someone is completely.” Roland put his hand on my arm.

“Hugh just said you can do that.” I was confused.

“I said we can sense it.” Hugh turned to look over his shoulder again. “He can tell exactly what percent someone is. He can also see their past and their future.”