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JULIE WAS STAR STRUCK by Tabby. “That’s one cool chick. She used to be a petal, but she did what she had to do to live. What an amazing woman!”
“Yeah, but now she’s a vampire,” I said.
“So? What’s so bad about that?” Julie asked. “She escaped her destiny. Besides, you seem to have a thing for vampires.”
“She has to drink blood! And not only that, she’s not like Jesse. She can’t eat food, and she can’t go out in the daylight without one of those magical rings. She paid a high price to stay alive.”
“She was involved in the Salem witch trials. Can you believe that? I think it’s pretty amazing, and if our plans don’t work out, I want her to bite me.”
“What!?” I asked, shocked. “Are you serious?”
“Dead serious...but only as a last resort.”
I rolled my eyes and could not think of a word to say to that.
She continued, “I don’t wanna die, Taylor. If I have to become a bloodsucking, night-crawling vampire to live, then so be it. Trust me, I don’t wanna give up cheeseburgers, but I don’t want to be sacrificed either. It’s a matter of taking the lesser of two evils.”
“Let’s not even think about it,” I said with a shudder. “We just have to stop the ceremony, because if you get bitten, another innocent girl has to take your place. Killing petals is useless, and I don’t know why the vampires keep doing it. Unless their plan is to wipe out the entire petal bloodline, even more senseless murder.”
“I get it,” she said. “I don’t want anyone to have to take my place on that altar. Let’s find a way to steal their little ball of energy, then stomp it into a million little pieces.”
“That’s the best game plan we have,” I said.
“Shouldn’t be too hard. We just have to figure out where the Aztecs hid it.”
“Yeah. Easy-peasy, right?” I said, rolling my eyes.
***
WE CHECKED INTO THE hotel, and I decided to take a long, hot shower. The warm water beating down on my body felt so good, relieving me of pent-up stress. I quickly brushed my teeth and got dressed.
Julie was unpacking her toiletries and an outfit for the next day.
“Where’s Jesse?” I asked, brushing through my wet hair.
“Went to get us some ice and drinks,” she said, smiling at me. “Can you believe we’re in Mexico?”
“I know. It’s amazing,” I said. “I just wish we were here on pleasure and not business.”
“Me too,” Julie echoed. “Maybe I’ll explore the city on my laptop. You know, Jesse didn’t want to explore Teotihuacan because it’s so touristy, but this is one of the world’s most important archeological, sacred, and renowned sites.”
“Jesse loves adventure, so I’m sure he would have preferred to go to some jungle where we had to hack our way through with a machete.”
“If he’d do it without a shirt, I’d be all over that idea.”
“Hey!” I said, shooting her a look.
She smiled devilishly. “We’re about thirty miles from Mexico City,” she said. “I think after all this hard work, we deserve one of those fancy Mexican drinks with a little umbrella in it, served to us by some guy in a sombrero.”
“Jules, try to stay focused on why we’re here.”
Finally, Jesse returned with a bucket of ice and sodas for all of us.
“Thanks, Jesse,” I said.
He smiled. “You’re welcome. Wanna sit on the balcony?”
“No thanks,” Julie said. “I’ll stay where there’s air conditioning.”
I laughed. “He was talking to me.”
Jesse gripped my hand and opened the sliding-glass door. We sat down in patio chairs outside on two patio chairs. The view wasn’t all that spectacular, but just being outside with Jesse in Mexico was more than enough for me.
He sipped his soda. “I’ve always wanted to visit Mexico.”
“Maybe we can come back and spend a few weeks here when this is all said and done.”
“If we’re not on the run.”
I blew out a long breath, realizing how right he was. “Even if Tabby’s group finds Halo’s Diamond, they still have to bring it to me so one of us can destroy it. Either Julie or I could singlehandedly take the witches’ powers forever...and without having to die for it.”
Jesse blinked. “The witches will see you as a traitor to your own kind, joining forces with the vampires to stop the ceremony.”
I sighed. “I know, but think of all the good we’d do. It’d keep the werewolves and witches from joining forces to destroy the vampires and stop an impending war, and it would also save six innocent lives in the process.”
“Certain witches pretend to be peaceful, but they’re far from it. There’s nothing peaceful about killing vampires and petals, and I’m afraid they could add Leyna to that list just as easily.”
“Keeping the power out of the hands of those witches is the only way to keep everything in check and in balance and save lives.”
He gripped my hand tight. “When I met you that first day in the woods, I never would have imagined it would be you who could stop the seemingly inevitable war of the ages.”
“You give me too much credit, Jesse. I haven’t stopped anything yet,” I said.
“Tabby’s teams are relentless. She has them positioned all over the world, not just the ones working with us. She’ll find that diamond, and you’ll be the one to destroy it.”
“I bet they never thought one of their chosen petals would backlash, take their powers away and stop their little war against the vampires.”
“Not in a million years.”
“Never underestimate the power or the will of a seventeen-year-old girl with a conscience and a will to live. I might get scared sometimes, but I’m a fighter to the end.”
He gazed lovingly at me, his eyes glowing beneath the Mexican sun. “I know, and those are just more reasons why I adore you. Listen, I really think the vampires will protect us. We can go live with Tabby in Salem, or we can go under their supernatural protection.”
“An immortal witness protection plan, huh?” I said.
“Exactly, and they’ll keep us alive. Sure, I wanna be the tough guy and protect you, but that kind of thinking will get us both killed. Fighting a pissed-off race on either side won’t be easy, and I can’t take the witches and werewolves on by myself, even as much as I wish I could. We need help, and I think we should join forces with the vampires.”
“But they’re not gonna protect us if we don’t find Halo’s Diamond. They might still want to kill Julie and me, just to eliminate two more potential petals.”
“I won’t let that happen. If worse comes to worst, there’s always my father.”
“But you said you left him because he was a bad person.”
“Hearsay, from my mother. I never heard his side of the story. Maybe she’s wrong,” he said, pain dripping from his voice. “Maybe I need to talk to my father myself. I haven’t seen him since I was eight, and it left a huge hole in my heart when he left. I’ve tried to forget about him, but even though life has a way of marching forward, I never really have.”
“He’s the one who’s missed out,” I said. “He doesn’t know what an amazing son he has.”
“I was never given a choice whether or not to have him in my life. That decision was made for me, by my mother, and I know I’ve been deeply affected by his absence. Kira and Sam feel the same way. Sometimes I feel incredibly lonely without him, even though I never really got to know him.”
Jesse seldom opened up to me about anything so personal, so I listened intently as he told me more. I couldn’t believe his father could leave three wonderful children behind without ever looking back, and it had hurt Jesse so much that his dad had turned his back on them.
“I can’t emphasize enough how amazing you really are. He might not have been there, but you still grew up to be a beautiful person.”
“Sometimes I wonder if I’d recognize him if I passed him on the street. It’s strange. Even though he’s not here, my father has overwhelming control and a strong grip on my emotions.”
“Do you even know where he is?”
“His permanent residence is in France where I grew up. But my sources told me he’s in Washington at the moment, but he’s kind of a globetrotter and travels all over the world. He has powerful connections, and I know he could keep us safe. He hasn’t seen me since I was a kid, but I can’t believe he’d stand idly by and let me die.”
We talked for a few hours, then headed inside and went to bed.
***
THE NEXT MORNING, I hurried to get ready. I slipped into black shorts with a black, lacy tank-top and white tennis shoes that would make for comfortable walking.
We took the metro to the Central del Norte, then took a bus to the ruins. We were high in the mountains of central Mexico, and it was beautiful. I couldn’t believe how many tour buses there were. It was especially interesting to walk down the Avenue of the Dead, and the place was teeming with historical significance.
We soon came to Citadel, at the center of the city. It was a large, open space, surrounded by temples. Julie had brought her camera and snapped one picture after another; she fit in right with all the other tourists.
An elderly gentleman in brown pants and a white, short-sleeved shirt fumbled around with his electronic equipment. He looked as if he was taking readings or recordings of some sort. When he shot me a smile, I smiled back.
“Let’s try the Temple of Quetzalcoatl,” Julie said.
I walked up to the building and studied the decorations on the ancient stone. In addition to the snails and shells, there were heads of serpents and another figure I didn’t recognize.
“That’s the Aztec rain god,” Jesse said.
We studied everything, looking for any kind of clue that might lead us to Halo’s Diamond, but nothing seemed significant. Jesse knew more about what to look for than me, because he’d studied it quite extensively with his mother, and I was sure he’d recognize any important sign or symbol we came across.
Julie took a swig of her water. “Let’s move on,” she said, wiping the sweat off her face.
Maneuvering through the tourists, we casually walked up Avenue of the Dead. It was hot out, and I could feel the beads of sweat rolling down my back. I glanced up at one of ancient Mexico’s largest structures, the Pyramid of the Moon.
“It’s about a two-mile walk to get there,” Jesse said, “but there are some things we should explore on the way.”
“We’re at the Pyramid of the Sun,” Julie announced. “It’s huge.”
I stared at the sophisticated layout and brilliant engineering of the ruins. I guessed it to be about 200 feet high and 700 feet wide. It was the first pyramid I’d ever seen up close and personal, and I found it fascinating.
Jesse blinked. “There are about 250 stairs to get to the top. You two up for a little exercise?”
“I guess I’ll be okay, as long as I don’t look down,” Julie said.
I smiled. “Jesse, you’re such an adrenaline junkie.”
“I know. I’d really love to jump down from the top, but I can’t do that with all these witnesses around.”
I grinned. “You’d alert every supernatural creature to our location.”
“Don’t worry. I promise to be on my best, most humanlike behavior.”
“Good, because we have to be inconspicuous,” Julie said.
We climbed the stairs and took in the view at the top.
Jesse leaned in closer, and his lips moved softly against mine. As he swirled his tongue over mine, we engaged in the most beautiful, perfect kiss. I couldn’t have asked for more, and I felt like some sort of princess. There I was, on top of a pyramid, kissing the guy of my dreams. It seemed surreal, as if time stopped while our lips moved together in a passionate dance. The long, greedy lip-lock continued until everything around me seemed to disappear. His fingers slid down my back, and goosebumps pimpled my neck. I could feel his heart pumping, hard and fast, against my chest.
I gazed into his pretty blue eyes, glittering brightly in the sunlight. “Oh, Jesse...” I moaned.
He leaned down, till our foreheads were almost touching. He breathed deeply, his hot breath hitting my cheek, then cradled my face as our lips moved in perfect sync and harmony. I poured all my heart and emotion into that kiss.
Julie cleared her throat. “Great. You two are pulling a PDA for all the tourists, and I think some guy just took a picture. On top of that, we don’t need Jesse getting all excited and going on a bloodlust rampage, killing tourists. I don’t want that showing up on YouTube or Facebook.”
Jesse slowly broke the kiss. “She’s right.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I guess I just got carried away, a bit lost in the moment.”
“I’ve been dying to kiss you like that all day,” he said. He then pulled me close, hugged me, and kissed the top of my head before we sat down next to Julie and enjoyed the wonderful, scenic view of the ruins.
“I can’t believe I’m in Mexico, on top of a pyramid, with a vampire,” Julie said. “If you’d have told me a year ago that I’d be here now, I would have told you that you were nuts.”
I grinned. “Our life has taken a rather...supernatural turn.”