We were on the road within an hour. Dustin handled the Eclipse with precision as we sped down the interstate. I shuffled through his music, settling on some new songs by Hollywood Undead.
Dustin snickered when he heard my choice. "Undead, really?" He cast me a sideways glance.
"Some of us still have a pulse," I reminded him. "Of course, I-" I was interrupted by his phone. I grabbed it and looked at the screen. "It's Brian."
"Put it on speaker."Â He turned down the stereo.
I hit the accept button. "Hey Brian, it's Katie. We have you on speaker."
"Where are you guys? I'm standing in front of your door." He sounded irritated.
"Actually," Dustin began, "we are heading to New Orleans for the weekend. I figured we would take your advice and lay low for a few days."
"I meant lay low here," Brian chastised. "But I guess this works out, considering I came here to tell you that I spoke to Savannah today, and she wants to meet with Katie. She's at the New Orleans estate."
I felt my pulse spike. "She wants to meet with me?" It was like being called to the principal's office.
"Calm down." Dustin took my hand in his. "Savannah is amazing. She's the only one who can really help you understand what's going on. She has seen everything there is to see, and if she doesn't quite understand it, she will find someone who does."
I looked at the phone. "Will you meet us in New Orleans?" I asked Brian.
"Would you feel better if I did?"
"Yes, please," I replied.
"I'll call you guys when I get to town."Â Brian disconnected.
"So much for a relaxing weekend," Dustin muttered, as he turned the stereo back up.
I leaned my head against the window and watched the scenery rush by. I had no idea what was in store for me, and I was nervous to be meeting with a real Magic Caster. Things had begun to spiral out of control. Learning to manage the Link in the beginning had been confusing, but now I was dealing with things so far beyond my comprehension. Auras, visions, telekinesis. I had read about some of those things in paranormal fiction books as a teenager, but this wasn't the world of fiction. This was the real world. And now, I was on my way to meet a magically gifted woman who was, supposedly, the one with all the answers to my questions.
"It looks like you and Brian have gotten close."Â Dustin kept his eyes on the road, a hint of envy in his voice.
I looked at him and frowned. "Are you serious? You're jealous?"
"Just surprised. You guys hated each other a few weeks ago, and now you want him to be with you when you meet Savannah?"
"Dustin, he's trying to help me. Don't you want me to get along with your family?"
He sighed. "I'm just frustrated that I can't help you more. It seems like our Link gets in the way of your concentration, and even though I know it's not true, I'm feeling like you don't need me anymore."
I took his hand in mine, and mentally willed my feelings of love into his consciousness. "I love you. There will never be anyone more important to me than you. But right now, everything is so crazy. Please don't get jealous. I need your complete support to get through all of this."
He brought his lips to my hand. "I've never been Linked to someone. I had no idea it would be this consuming. I think about you every minute of every day. I feel you in my head and my heart constantly, so I guess jealousy is natural. I know you aren't in love with Brian or anything, but I just want to be part of things, instead of feeling like a hindrance to your progress."
"I understand," I replied, trying to reassure him. "From now on, I promise you will be part of everything. I didn't think about it from your point of view and I'm sorry. There's no one I want next to me more than you."
I leaned up and kissed his cheek. The moment my lips touched his skin, the familiar pain seared through my head, forcing my eyes closed. When I opened them, I was standing in a small room, surrounded by Shawn, George and Jeremy. Brian and two men I didn't recognize were half concealed in the shadows. There was a red- haired girl hunched on the floor. "Where is she?" Shawn screamed at her; his features distorted. His brow was thick, and his speech was altered by his lengthened canines. I drew in a sharp breath as I realized he was in full vampire mode.
The girl giggled wildly. "You won't find her unless you give us what we want."
Jeremy reached down and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her up to face Shawn. "You are going to die for this anyway. Do the right thing. Tell us where to find her."
"The right thing?" Her voice was shrill. "Like your parents are doing? Merging Eternals together for some kind of Master Race? You will all suffer for this."
I felt myself move towards the girl. She grinned up at me, her face smeared with blood. "What's wrong, big brother? Couldn't protect little sister, could you? This is all your fault. And when you find her limp, lifeless body, you will only have yourself to blame."
My foot flew and connected with her stomach. She grunted and curled into a ball, still laughing that haunting laugh. I turned to Jeremy and the others. "Kill her." They descended upon her with rage born from years of protecting their own. I felt a strong satisfaction as I watched them tear her apart. She looked up at me one more time before the dark grey light in her eyes went out. I smiled.
I screamed and buried my head in my hands.
"Katie!"Â Dustin grabbed my hands and pulled them away from my face.
I looked up and realized we were stopped on the side of the road. "Oh, my god." I let out a shaky breath.
"What happened?"
I slowly met his eyes. "I had a vision. From your mind."
His eyes narrowed nervously. "What did you see?"
"Was Alicia a red head?"
He sighed and leaned back against the head rest. "You saw what happened with Alicia? How much of it?"
"She was on the ground and she was saying awful things and then..."Â I trailed off.
"Katie, listen to me. She was a very bad person. We had no idea where Dani was, and emotions were very high."
"Dustin, you were happy when she died. I could feel it. You smiled when the guys attacked her."
He paused for a moment, then nodded. "Do you remember when you had the vision of Dani getting punched? That was just one moment from over three days of moments that she endured. My twin sister, who means more to me than anything in this world, was tortured and beaten repeatedly. So yes, I was happy to see Alicia die. I didn't think I would ever see Dani again, and I became a very different person, bent on seeing everyone involved pay dearly. I rained down revenge filled pain on everyone I found, and those that got away are still on borrowed time. A vampire never forgets, and if I see them again, I'll finish what I started."
I stared at him. I had never seen him so angry. His Aura was vibrating a bright green and his anger was pouring into my consciousness. I tried to keep my breath even. "Dustin, please calm down. I can feel you, remember?"
He took a deep breath and looked into my eyes. "Everything's okay. I'm calm and so are you."
I felt myself relax, as his energy slowed in my system. "I know how much you love Dani, and I probably would have done the same thing in your place. I've just never seen you in that light before and it was scary."
"It was a stressful time. I'm not a monster, but I will fight for the people I love. If anything happened to you, I would lay waste to everyone involved. Just like my love for Dani, what I feel for you is eternal, and no one will take you from me without a fight."
I felt my heart swell. Although I was still shaken by what I had seen, I knew that Dustin meant what he said. That no matter what happened, he would always love me, and if someone tried to hurt me, he would make them pay.
"Are we okay?" He tilted my chin up and kissed me. I braced myself for another vision, nothing came. Just the sweet calm of his lips on mine.
I nodded. "We're okay."
He gave me one last long look before starting the engine. "I love you, Katie."
"I love you, too."
Author's Note: Katie's seeing another side of Dustin. Do you think he was justified in his anger? Comment and let me know what you think! Luvs as always!! AMð