SEVEN

“You’re not going to die,” I insisted. “Why would you even say that?”

Jose Luis looked up at me and his eyes filled with sadness. “I have cancer. I know I do.”

“Who told you that?” Christian asked as he sat on the other side of his bed.

“I heard Aloysius when he told Fiore just outside the door,” he explained. I looked at Aloysius and he averted my eyes.

“Is that what you told her?” I asked. Fiore nodded before Aloysius could answer. “Are we sure of this? There might be some other explanation.”

“Lily, did you hear what the doctor said?” Aloysius moved to stand in front of me. “Even Jose Luis understands.”

“I know. But, there must be something that can be done. He’s too young for this.”

“We can get all the facts from the doctor when we see him. Until then, let’s visit with Jose Luis before the nurses kick us out for the night,” Aloysius said with a smile, trying to calm me.

“You’re right,” I answered and turned back to Jose Luis. “Is there anything from home you want us to bring?”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Fiore said coming closer to the bed and opening the front pocket of the suitcase. “I brought some of your comic books.”

“Thank you, Fiore,” Jose Luis smiled sincerely. “Now I have something besides TV.”

“Yeah, but how about you just stay out of the hospital? We’ve only known you a short time and here you are again,” Fiore joked.

The prevailing sadness was overwhelming but we tried to keep the mood light for him. We spent another hour in his room, trying to seem interested in the TV as he flipped through the channels and making idle conversation. At eight sharp, a nurse came to tell us visiting hours were over. We said goodnight to Jose Luis and left him.

As the four of us sat in the living room, the mood was glum. No one spoke for what seemed like an eternity and I felt as if I would jump right out of my skin. Finally, not being able to look at the sad faces surrounding me, I stood and did what I do in these situations: I paced back and forth between the window and the coffee table.

“Lily, what are you thinking? I can’t hear your thoughts at all.” Fiore broke the silence.

Taken by surprise, I stopped. I wasn’t trying to conceal my thoughts. “Really? You can’t hear anything?” I asked and looked at the others. They shook their heads. “If my heart beat and you could hear it, you’d know it’s breaking. How is that possible, to feel it breaking right inside my chest when it’s been dead and rotting for ninety years?”

Aloysius stood and came to my side. “Just because we are technically dead doesn’t mean we can’t feel. We definitely feel love and I believe it’s a hundred times stronger than the way any mortal feels it.” He looked toward Fiore before turning back to me, taking my hands in his. “We will do whatever you wish.”

I turned to look at Christian’s face. His eyes glistened with the tears he tried to fight back. “You heard what the doctor said. The surgery could be more harmful than not. He could end up paralyzed, or worse, a vegetable. How could anyone let this go on for so long? Didn’t anyone realize he was sick?”

“To tell you the truth, I doubt anyone cared. They were using him for his abilities and nothing more,” Aloysius led me back to the sofa beside Christian. “What do you wish to do?”

“Why are you asking us?” I asked and allowed myself to settle into Christian’s comforting arms. Not long ago I would have continued my pacing with my nails digging into my clenched palms. Now, I couldn’t stay out of my husband’s arms when he offered them.

“You two are his true parents now. I will respect your decision, no matter what it is,” Aloysius smiled and sat next to Fiore, taking her hand. “I know you have his best interest in mind. Fiore, will you accompany me to feed? They need some time alone to discuss things.”

“Certainly.” She stood and straightened her skirt. “I am with Aloysius on this one. We will back you in whatever you decide.” She leaned to kiss me on the forehead and smiled at Christian before placing her hand in Aloysius’s and disappearing from the room.

Sliding down on the sofa, I lay my head back and rested my feet on the coffee table. Christian stayed silent, giving me a moment. “What if we go ahead with the surgery? At least give it a chance?”

“We could do that. It is only a chance that the outcome will be negative. I think we should focus on the positive,” he said, laying his head back and turning to look at me.

“Right. He’s a strong kid. What if he does beat it? He’s a fighter, I think.”

“Yeah. If anybody can beat this, it’s him.” He said it, but I heard no conviction in his voice.

“You have doubts, don’t you?” I sat up again so I could see his face.

“I have no doubts about his will to live. That seems pretty damn strong. But you heard what the doctor said. This tumor is large. It’s spreading quickly. If they had caught it sooner, his chances would have been much higher,” he explained.

I nodded and sighed. I knew the hunters cared nothing about him. They took care of his material needs so they could continue to use him. Nothing more. “If we go ahead with the surgery and the outcome is bad, can we do anything to save him? I mean, can we reverse the paralysis if it happens?”

Christian sat up and looked at me with raised eye brows. “I truly don’t know. What are you thinking?”

“I’m not going to let him die. How can you even think that?” I stood and walked to the window. He followed.

“Lily, you can’t be serious. He’s just a kid.”

“That’s exactly why I’m thinking it. He’s too young to die and he’s too young to live the rest of his life paralyzed, unable to do anything for himself, to enjoy anything. That’s not a life. Either way, he’s doomed.”

“Think about what Aaron would say.”

“Who cares what Aaron would say? I don’t give a damn. Do you see him here? Do you see Kalia by our side while we’re dealing with this? No! They don’t care. They turned their backs on me, on us. I don’t give a rat’s ass what they think!”

Christian laughed despite the anger in my voice. “I understand how you feel about them right now. I also know that in time, you’ll forgive them and remember how much you love them. Maia may have been with them longer than you, but I honestly believe someone as cold-hearted as her can’t keep up the charade too much longer. She will show her true colors to them eventually and your relationship with them will be mended. What then? You know how Aaron feels about making more vampires.”

“As much as I want to believe what you’re saying, the point still is that they love Maia. If they end up finding out the truth and she pleads hard enough, they will most likely forgive her. Where does that leave me? Still out of their lives. She didn’t want me there from the start and she will make sure I stay away. I have to forget about them. Aaron’s opinion no longer matters in any decision I make.” I turned away from the window and went back to the sofa. Even though I was looking down at the street, I could not remember anything I saw. My anger was starting to boil again at the mere mention of Aaron’s name. How could the love I felt for him cause so much pain and anger now?

“So you’re really considering turning Jose Luis?”

“I haven’t really given it too much thought yet. I just know I can’t let him die. I’m sick of losing the people I love.” My eyes burned with the start of tears. “I can’t handle anymore.”

Christian kneeled in front of me and took my hands in his, his eyes softening as my tears finally spilled over. “Is this about you or him?”

“How dare you insinuate that I could be that selfish?” I tore my hands away and stood.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it as harshly as it sounded. I understand how much you’re hurting after all the loss, even Ian’s, but do you think Jose Luis would be better off like us?”

“I don’t know. I would just rather he be like us than not be at all. Does that make sense?”

“It makes perfect sense.”

“But why would you think I feel anything for Ian after all he did?”

Christian opened his mouth but a knock at the door interrupted his response. Fiore and Aloysius would not be knocking and we weren’t expecting anyone else. Christian rose to answer the door but it opened before he could reach it. Mariana entered alone.

“What are you doing here?” I snapped before she could say anything.

“Let me explain,” she looked at my angry face with fear. “The driver, Tomas, he was in the car as soon as you left to go to town. I watched him from the window and he was dialing his cell phone. I wouldn’t have given it much thought, since he was free at the moment, but he looked nervous. He kept watching me as I watched him, his hand covering his mouth as he talked. I got suspicious so I went outside.”

“And? What did you hear?” I asked standing in front of her, hands on my hips.

“Nothing, that’s the problem. As soon as I stepped out the door he shut his phone, dove to the passenger side, and ran. I searched the car since I thought I saw him throw something toward the back but he must have taken the phone with him. I was only a few minutes behind him but, somehow, I lost him. His footprints disappeared suddenly.”

“What do you mean suddenly?” I didn’t try to hide my annoyance.

“I followed them for a couple of miles, just before town, and the tracks stopped at a tree. I figured maybe he climbed up but when I looked, he wasn’t there. I even climbed it myself. He just disappeared.” Mariana stepped back a few paces and tried to smile, faltering when I glared.

“That doesn’t even make sense!”

“Lily, do you think maybe…Melinda?” Christian suggested.

“Why would she do that? If she was there, she would have been after us, not the driver. And besides, wouldn’t they have taken the opportunity of us being in Churín to go get Jose Luis?”

“That does make more sense,” Christian crossed his arms and frowned. “We need to find the driver and clear this up. Why would he run? Why would he risk his own life? He was surrounded by vampires, totally defenseless.”

“I will find him,” Mariana said with authority. “I know where he lives. I know his family. I recommended him for this job.”

“Please tell me you checked him out before you hired him,” I stood eye to eye with Mariana and she didn’t back away this time.

“Of course I did. He has a wife and two children. He drives a taxi but is barely surviving trying to pay for his kids’ school. He used to drive for Aloysius whenever he came to Peru but Aloysius would rather take taxis or just appear where he wants. He’s too private. I figured this was a good opportunity for Tomas to make some extra money.”

“And why didn’t you stay in contact with us?”

“It was kind of hard to talk while running. Besides, I had no signal most of the time,” Mariana explained and looked at her watch. “I’m going to go pay a visit to his wife. He might be there.”

“No, that will be all for now. Giovanni is in charge. I will send him. You can take the rest of the night off,” I put a hand up when she tried to speak. “That will be all, Mariana.”

“But, ma’am, you’re not in charge here. Aloysius…”

“He may have hired you for this job but it’s us you’re guarding. I will decide what happens when he is absent.” I opened the front door and ushered her out. Margarita was just relinquishing her seat outside the door to Vicente, her replacement for the night. I stopped her before she could walk down the hall. “Margarita, can you get a message to Giovanni for me?”

“Of course,” she answered. I told her what I needed and gave her the address I got from Mariana. “Please make sure Giovanni goes personally. He can call my cell when he has something to report.”

“Very well. I will go to him right away.” She rushed down the hall toward the elevator with Mariana following. Mariana left without saying goodbye. She was angry that I wasn’t buying her story, but I didn’t care. I was tired of letting others take the lead in my life.

“You don’t believe her, do you?” Christian asked as he bolted the front door.

“Was it that obvious?” I asked and rolled my eyes. “There’s something about her…I’m not exactly sure why but I don’t like her.”

“Remind me to never get on your bad side,” he replied as he took my hand and led me toward the spiral stairs.

“Where are we going?”

He smiled and looked at my eyes as he pulled me by the hand. “I liked the way you took charge. Think you can do that again upstairs?”

I laughed but quickened my step. A few hours alone with Christian was just what I needed to help me decompress. The rest could wait until morning.