Second Chances (The Extinct Race Series) (24 page)

“
Monica will you lead Piper and Aidan upstairs? And we will get the kiddos. And any and all help is appreciated.” Kaiden says

Zoe takes little Lily upstairs and gives her a bath and another bottle.
Halina and Iraina have four toddlers and are giving them baths and putting them to bed in the room they made for them. Vivi had wrangled a TV for the girls room and tells them all they can quietly watch a movie in their room, but only as long as they are ready for bed and in their beds. She tells the boys the same thing and she leaves to help Tia and John wrangle the three toddlers they decided to take tonight into a bath. Monica and Rosa each took a baby and are busy putting them to bed. Piper asked if she could help with one and took a baby into her room. There was already a crib in there. Three of the ladies in the house took the last three babies left and the other three took the toddlers. Justine went to lay little Jacob down.

An hour later all the adults were sitting around the fire pit and chatting as Kaiden and Zoe walked into the room.
Kaiden and Zoe took a seat together in a large chair and Kaiden told them all about the journal and the fail safes. He told them of the spell book and the spell that they added to the border. He told them about the birth records they found and the fact that Zoe and Zach had magic within them. He told them of the training they did every morning after breakfast and about the house.

By the end of the night Kaiden had said that they could stay in the rooms
they were in now, or he could have houses built for them anywhere on the property. They all expressed interest in their own homes and Kaiden took note of it. Piper and Aidan asked Monica and Brad if they would mind if they had a house built close to them for the children. As they wanted Abby in their home with them, but knew now that she had found her soul mate that the two would be inseparable. Piper did not want to take that away from Abby at all. Monica told her that Rosa and Michael were making their houses semi close so she saw no problem with it.

The Water couples all wanted to have Cabanas built on the beach itself and the Earth couples wanted to live near the forest area.
The Fury couples didn’t care as long as they could make an area to stretch out and fight in. Alexi and Gosha both wanted to be near the house so they were not far if needed. The Fire couple also didn’t care where they were put as long as they had a home they were happy. Brice said he would like to stay in the main house. He wanted to give Ava and Carmine their space to get to know one another and also wanted to be around people.

Kaiden and Zoe pull
ed Piper and Aidan to the side and explained the route Mr. Steinman had to take and how he found her. He never told them how much he spent getting her, it didn’t matter to him. The relief and sorrow is filled in both their faces as they walked upstairs.

Kaiden had a big list for the builders in the morning.
Once they had that all figured out they all went to their rooms and to bed. All the babies and toddlers always slept through the night. So everyone heard Piper crying out her relief at finding her daughter throughout the night.

Chapter 24

The First Search

A week had passed and it was time to leave for Romania. Kaiden and Zoe decided to leave Lily with Mary and lots of shirts that Zoe wore through that week. It was only for maybe three days, so Zoe was very nervous. Carmine and Ava were coming, but they were going to stay on the plane and only go off of it if needed. Carmine did not want to risk Ava’s life. He did not want to lose another mate like he did the first. And Ava was just as scared of that fact.

They knew where the circus was setting up and they chose a landing spot about an hour away just in case.
Kaiden did not want to ask anyone to go on this trip. He knew that the half-bloods were out there again and he didn’t want to choose anyone to die. But he didn’t have to worry as all the Fury couples decided they wanted to come. They also took advantage of the bullet proof vests Kaiden had ordered a couple weeks ago.

Kaiden and Zoe both were made to wear a vest if they were going to leave the plane.
Christian and Vivi also came to help, just in case. They needed Christian though, for kind of a sensor to harm. The flight took only two hours and they landed in a big open field surrounded by trees. Thankfully Kevin knew how to land the jet very easily in tight spaces. Sebastian, John, and Colby all got out to recon the area. They got back an hour later and said it was all clear. Camilla and Makayla went to find them a rental car place and they were back with two large SUV’s and hour later. They all loaded up into the SUV and went to find some food. They found a small diner and ate there.

Once it got dark they headed back to the plane and turned the chairs into beds.
All of the Fury’s took turns sleeping and keeping guard. The circus was due to setup up tonight or early in the morning. Either way, the main show started at noon, Donny’s wouldn’t start until the sun set, they planned to get there first thing in the morning and check it out.

When they woke in the morning they all got dressed in jeans
, large sweaters that covered the vests and a light jacket. Kaiden had become pretty good with a machete and carried it in a hidden pocket he had in his jeans. Zoe was good at throwing things so she had lots of hidden knives along her back and pockets in her coat. Tia had a plain old stick she loved to use. It looked like a stick anyway, it was actually hard pressed wood and in the middle was an iron rod. The thing hurt like hell when she hit with it. John liked to use his hands, but he had two smaller versions of Tia’s stick stuck in the back of his pants. Makayla and Colby both haven’t really trained with weapons yet so they use their hands and strength. Sebastian likes to use a scythe sickle. It looks like a small axe, but the blade is curved like a scythe. Camilla is deadly with her chain whip. Vivi and Christian both didn’t carry a weapon. They relied on their hands and their abilities. Carmine and Ava stayed in the plane with Kevin.

They drove the SUV’s for about thi
rty minutes and then parked the vehicles behind a building. They wanted to walk the rest of the way, so that the feeling of the pull would alert them or Christian would. Once they reached the outer edges of the circus grounds they split up. John and Tia stayed with Kaiden and Zoe and so did Christian and Vivi. They all looked like a group of teens just hanging out and waiting. Camilla and Sebastian went to the front and watched the tents being lifted. Colby and Makayla went to the back to also pretend they were interested in the tents going up. None of them felt the pull of another Dragon or half-blood here.

As the circus came to life in front of them there still was no pull.
The Circus was set to open at noon and a crowd was starting to form. Children were laughing and pointing at all the silly things around them. They all knew that Donny’s show was not going to start until the sun started to set. As the gates opened they bought tickets and went inside.

There was no feeling of a pull
, so they all decided to enjoy themselves a little. There were small rides and lots of games to be played. The food was the greasy, too sugary stuff everyone loves to eat at the circus. There was a show in the main tent at two and they all decided to go watch it. Kaiden had won Zoe a bear and she carried it around like it was the best thing ever. The younger group sat in the middle of the stands where the two older couples sat on the edges, near the exits.

In the show there was a lady who flipped and jumped high in the air on a swing.
Then there was the lion show and the typical clown act. A woman came out standing on the back of two running horses and she did all kinds of flips and stuff on those horses. She later brought out a large elephant and offered rides to children as a magic act happened in the middle. The show lasted about two hours and the finale was a group of motorcycle riders battling in a large round metal cage.

When the show was over they remained split up, but in sight of each other.
They all enjoyed the circus as it progressed throughout the day. It was starting to get very packed as the day turned to early evening. Once the sun started to set, they all felt it. A pull the pull of a full-blood was nearing the grounds. Kaiden looked to Christian and Christian smiled and nodded his head. Carmine’s nephew was nearing the grounds. The fire show was set to start in an hour. The tent that it was in was already filling up.

“I think we need to follow him home and not approach him here.”
Kaiden says

“I think you are right, we need to find out where he stays and if his mother is still with him.
I don’t think he would leave his mother.” Zoe says

“Alright since he is the only one we all need to split up inside the tent.
John splits off and informs Colby and Makayla of the plan, Tia you tell your parents. Now first one that sees him leave, leave behind him and follow at a distance. Find the location and meet back at the vehicles.” Kaiden says “and be careful.”

As they take their seats the pull gets stronger.
They now know that Donny is in the tent. The lights dim in the tent and they see a figure walk out into the middle. All of a sudden the ring around the tent is engulfed in flames and a spotlight shines down on the figure. He is tall and lean, dark auburn hair is everywhere in a sloppy, but stylish mess. He wears dark sunglasses to cover his eyes, but his smile is devilish as he scans the crowd. His arms are covered in tattoos and they go up the side of his neck. Donny doesn’t even seem to notice them or the pull feeling and if he does he does not acknowledge it.

“Good evening Ladies and Gentleman!”
Donny bellows into the cheering crowd. “I am Donny, the fire wielder. Now keep your little ones close and stay in your seats. I wouldn’t want to accidently burn any of you.” He bellows out.

Donny turns and grabs a bottle from the ground.
He takes a huge drink and then spits it out. When he spit it out he also lifted his hand and it all caught fire. Donny then waved his arm and the flame danced above him. Now, to a normal person it looks like he took a gulp of something flammable and had something hidden in his sleeve to catch that liquid on fire. But Kaiden and Zoe both saw him swallow the liquid and then just blow air. They also saw that his hand had nothing in it and the flame just appeared.

For an hour he did similar thing
s that looked like he was putting on a show, it was a very good show too. He set things on fire and danced through the flames. You could tell the boy was very cocky with his stunts. But he made it all look like tricks to the human eye. For his finale stunt he set a ring around his feet. He grabbed three more rings into his hands. He set all the rings on fire and juggled the rings at first and the one on the ground just burned around him. Then the ring on the ground started to lift higher and the rings he was juggling all hovered in the air near him. Then the ring that was lifting went over his head and met the other rings in the air. They created a huge wall of flame and Donny ducked behind the curtain just as the flames died and the rings fell to the ground. It looked like he just went up in flames.

The crowd went wild with cheering and screaming calling for more.
The lights in the tent came on then and you could tell he was not coming back out. Sebastian went out one exit and Colby went out the other. The rest of them were waiting for the crowd in the tent to start dying down before they stood to leave. Makayla and Camilla both moved to positions where they could see their mates and the rest of the group. Kaiden and Zoe took the time to gather some food to go and they were near the food area waiting. Vivi and Christian stood with Tia and John in the center of the grounds, everyone could see each other. When Kaiden and Zoe made their way back to the others Kaiden looked to Christian.

“Can you get a read on what he is going to do?”

“Right now he seems to be stalling.
For a moment when the rings were all on fire and he slipped through the back his intent was to leave and quickly. Now he is unsure.” Christian says

“Hmm, well how about we act like we are leaving
, the six of us will start to walk off and we will leave them to follow him.” Zoe says

“Sounds good Angel, I got the food for Carmine, Ava and Kevin.”
Kaiden says

They walk toward
Camilla and Makayla. “We are going to head towards the vehicles we will wait there until you guys get there.” Kaiden says

“Sounds good
, see you then.” Makayla says

As they get a good distance away the tent that the show was in goes up in flames.
People scream and go running. Cars start speeding away a few moments later and Kaiden sees Colby and Sebastian run after a particular one.

“Well we know why he was stalling.”
Christian says

Chapter 25

Donny

"Shit, shit, shit.
Mom is going to freak the fuck out if she finds out so many of them had that feeling!" Donny tells himself as he speeds down the street. He has gotten far enough away now that the feeling is gone. His mom always told him that the feeling between him and her was normal, because she was his mom. But if he felt that feeling with anyone else it meant bad news. She said anyone with that feeling was there to kill him. So when he pulled in to do his show and felt it, he panicked. But the show had to go on or he wouldn't get paid. They depended on the money he made here. No one knew he could really create the fire, so he made it all look like he used other things, like alcohol and wires under his sleeves. He made his show go on as normal and the crowd went nuts, as usual.

Donny has made this circus act thrive in the three years he has been with them.
It was a dead little Circus that could only pull families in for two days at the most. When he approached the man who ran the show and showed him what he could do, the owner put him on stage that night. The show went on for a week and the owner asked Donny to travel with them. The owner also said that he could double the money he made that week. This sounded awesome to Donny because his mother always moved them around anyway.

When he
was a kid she home schooled him and they never stayed in one town longer than a month. She said it was because she got bored, but Donny didn't really ever care because he got to do the things he wanted too. He wanted a tattoo he got it, he wanted to pierce his lip and he got it. His mom never complained about anything and she would let him go out with friends as long as he came straight home if he felt that feeling. She never described the feeling to him, just always said the feeling.

So tonight he drove as fast as he could to get home.
He wasn't going to tell her anything. Today was opening day of his act and he wouldn't get paid until the last day of the week. This money paid their rent. His mom didn't like living on the grounds with all the other people, she said the animals made it stink. So they would always find out where they were going next and she would pick a place at least an hour away to stay at. The last time he felt this feeling was in England. He felt it all week and then spotted the girl that the feeling came from.

When he felt
her his first thought was to go to her and make her his. The feeling didn’t creep up on him that time either it was just there all of a sudden. The feeling coming from her was different. And this was the reason he never ran home at night that week after his shows. Something about this girl pulled him in. She was gorgeous with dark hair that was almost purple. She had piercings in her eyebrows, nose and mouth. She also had a few tattoos that he could see on her hand, wrist and neck.

She wore dark clothing though, which covered most of her tall lean body.
He could tell that she was curved and filled out in all the right places though. Her hair pulled him in too. It was long past her waist and so soft looking. She had bruises marring her face and neck though, old and new ones. She would stare at him or so he thought, she was wearing glasses the night he finally really saw her like he was told to, but hers were to cover the black eye she was sporting at the show that night. He only knows that because he could see the bottom half of the bruise.

He wore his glasses because his mother made him.
He knew he had unique eyes with orange color flecks in them just like his mothers. But his mother said that he had to wear the glasses at all times, that his eyes were sensitive to light and if he took them off he might go blind. She said he was born with a condition. He had heard that so much growing up that he believed it and was afraid to tempt fate and take them off.

That girl was at every show that week.
She tried a few times to talk to him, but he always turned and walked away. Another fear his mother ingrained in him. On the last night of the show his mother came. They always left right after the last show and drove to the next town. His mother must have felt the girl too, because as soon as the show was over she was freaking out back stage and they left right then. He had only enough time to grab the cash he was owed. They never went back to England again, if the circus went there they didn't.

His mother knew about his ability with fire, she said it was a hereditary thing and his father could do it too.
His father had died when she was still pregnant with him and he thinks that is where all her fears stem from. She was young and left alone to raise a baby. A baby who used to set the whole house on fire when he would get upset or didn't get his way. Thankfully he never hurt his mother or anyone else. They usually had to move because of that fact too. He had grown out of that phase now and used his ability to make money, so she didn't have to work three jobs like she used to. His mother may have been overprotective and moody at times, but she was all he ever had and he loved her dearly.

He was almost home and started to relax.
He didn't feel anything anymore and no one had followed him that he could see. They were staying in a small apartment above a store. The store was just a little pharmacy and closed early. The store didn't make much money and that is why they rented the apartment out. As he got near he could see the lights on and his mother’s outline. She appeared to be in the kitchen washing dishes. She was going to wonder why he was home so early tonight when he walks in. He usually hung out at the circus and tried to hook up with a girl, or he hung out with a few of the guys that worked the tents. He was going to have to make up a story that she would believe and one that would make her not worry. He pulls up to the street and parks the car, he looks around as he gets out and doesn't see anything, so he goes inside.

"Hey mom I’
m home." Donny says

"Hey son you're early, was the crowd a bust?"
His mother asks

He could have said yes, but she would find out the truth at the end of the week when he got paid.
"Nah it was packed and the crowd loved it. I guess some kids loved it so much they thought they could do it too and after the show ended the tent caught fire and went up in flames. No one was hurt, but they closed the place pretty fast." He somewhat lied to her.

"Oh my god, are you sure no one was hurt?"
She asked worry written all over her face

"Yes mom.
Beck told me to get out of there so no one would blame me. The cops would be called and all so they knew you would flip if they started asking questions, again."

"Well I’
m glad you are safe and no one was hurt. Trouble just follows you everywhere when it comes to fire." She laughed

"Hey it’s been like ten years since I burned something down.
Now I just play with it." He teased

"Well since you’
re early, you want to watch a movie with me? I went and got some new ones." She asked

"Sure mom, I got nothing else going on."

"Well I know you don't like hanging out with old ladies, but I would like to hang out with my son." She teased

"Y
eah because you’re ancient and all, come on mom show me what movies you got and I’ll make some popcorn."

His mother always joked about being old, but in truth she has looked the exact same to him since he could remember.
She had the same auburn hair as his and it didn't go grey like women her age were supposed to. He was twenty one now and she was at least fifty, but she didn't look a day over twenty five and all his friends teased him about it. The guys that worked the fair loved when she came around. She never paid any attention to other men though.

Donny made the popcorn and his mother showed him the three movies she got.
Apparently one was a comedy, the other an action movie, and her favorite type a scary movie. They sat on the couch and popped in the scary movie first. It was the longest and they always saved the comedy for last.