Chapter 412
I’d been working on my math before Aaron arrived, but snooping around in Vampires’ brains seemed like more fun, so I left my work on the coffee table and got comfortable on the couch. I used to have to go on a rooftop at night to have good transmission, but now I can contact whomever I’m looking for from most anywhere—so long as there’s no stupid shield in the way. I closed my eyes, and a moment later, I was in Mika Ito’s head.
She knew I was there immediately, which was a little odd. Most of the time, it takes them a second to start to sense that maybe they’re not alone. She didn’t try to push me out, though, only seemed a little freaked out, like she didn’t know what to think about. I giggled as I went about prodding, poking through her memories, looking for anything questionable, anything that might lead me to Hines or Holland.
I saw how she’d been turned. It really was an innocent scratch in a nightclub. She’d been dancing with some guy, and another clubber bumped into her from behind. When he’d grabbed hold of her to keep Mika from falling, he’d accidentally cut her wrist. I guessed he had to have had DNA under his nail for some reason because there has to be a transfer for the Resurrection to take place. Anyway, it took her a long time to turn, and he helped her through it. But now he was dead. Killed in one of the raids our Washington, DC, team had done on Compliants recently.
Mika was upset about that, but I didn’t see that she was vengeful. Nor did I pick up on anything about Hines or Holland. She knew who Holland was, as all Vampires did because when she’d called to us—them—whatever—when she’d first come back through the Blue Moon Portal, we’d all answered her cry, one way or another. Still, Mika had a job and a life in DC and was successfully covering up what she really was. So when “Asteria” called for all Vampires to rise up against LIGHTS, Mika had resisted.
I did see that she’d been communicating with other Vampires recently on the phone, and this was associated with planning the festival. She seemed nervous about it, and I couldn’t get a read on who she’d been talking to. But it wasn’t Hines or Holland. I wondered if the nerves were because she’d never done anything like this before. I got the impression she was chosen to be the one to talk to Aaron because of her clean record, and the others thought she’d have a better chance of getting a yes.
I didn’t see anything about a blood moon at all, not even a memory of reading about it online or seeing it on the news. Satisfied that she was likely just fine, I popped back out of her head and into my living room.
“Mika looks clean to me,” I said to Aaron through my IAC. “I’ll go back in later and see if I can find anything else, just to make sure, but I didn’t see anything about Hines or Holland. She doesn’t seem to know about the blood moon. As far as I can tell, everything looks legitimate.”
“Great, Cass. Thanks a lot. If you find anything else later, let me know.”
“Will do.” I let him go and pondered picking up my math homework, though part of me wanted to ask him if I could please go with him to the Eidolon Festival. I knew he was required to go, and while Hunters aren’t allowed, technically, that’s not what I am. I’m half-Vampire. Maybe I could go and mingle with my other half.
I decided I might ask him later, but not right now since he was likely to say no anyway. I’d wait and see who he was taking before I threw my hat in the ring. For all I knew, he wouldn’t take anyone else with him from Kansas City. He could just use locals. I hoped he would, though. Dax was so close to being done with his observations, and I knew Brandon was dying to get back in the action almost as badly as I was.
It crossed my mind that the blood moon at the end of the month was only a few days before my sister’s wedding. We were all supposed to be in Shenandoah by then, getting ready for the big day. That might make Aaron a little more selective over who he took with him. I couldn’t imagine my sister being particularly happy with Aaron leaving right before the wedding, even if it was just for one night. She was probably going to blow a gasket when he told her. Rather him than me.
After finishing my math, I went downstairs to visit with my mom and show her my progress. She was glad I’d been working so hard, but I could tell she was distracted. My sister had given her a lot to work on with the wedding, and I think she was starting to realize they were running out of time. I left there feeling a bit like the hated child and went to Brandon’s.
Elliott had gone on the Vegas hunt but hadn’t come straight back with everyone else for some reason. I knew he and Aurora had had an argument while they were there because my sister let it slip one evening, over the IAC, before she came home. I didn’t know if Elliott’s decision to ride a motorcycle back had something to do with that or if he just likes picking bugs out of his teeth, but I was glad to see him when he came out of his bedroom that afternoon.
Brandon paused the movie we’d been watching, and I stood up to give Elliott a hug. “How was your trip?”
“Good,” he said squeezing me a little too tightly. “I mean, the second half, the ride back. Vegas, meh, not so much.”
He let go of me and I sat back down next to Brandon who may have already heard as much as Elliott was willing to say. “Was the hunt exciting?”
“Oh, yeah. That was cool. We chased Vampires around the Venetian. Did your sister tell you she decapitated one in the fountain outside of the hotel?” I nodded, laughing along with him. “Jamie scaled the side of the Eiffel Tower and took out another one. It was a good hunt. Got all of the bad guys, so that’s always a good thing.”
I smiled at him as his tone changed. The not-so-good things must’ve come to mind toward the end. “So... you’re not seeing Roar anymore?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t being too nosy.
“Nah, that’s over.” He seemed nonchalant about it, but I could tell something was bothering him, at least a little bit. “We just weren’t a good match.”
Nodding, I said, “Sometimes that’s the case. Not a big deal, though. There’s a million girls who would love to go out with you.”
“I know,” he said like it was the gospel truth, and I laughed again. “It’s all good.”
He walked into the kitchen and started opening pantry doors and the refrigerator, and I knew the discussion was over. I looked at Brandon for a moment with my eyebrows raised. He hadn’t elaborated when we’d talked about it earlier because he said he’d rather let his dad talk to me about it, but it seemed like there was more Brandon thought I needed to know, something his dad hadn’t said. He just shrugged and restarted the movie
A few minutes later, Elliott headed back to his bedroom, and Brandon turned down the volume on the television, though he didn’t shut it off completely. “He went to see my mom.”
My eyebrows raised in surprise. “Really? How do you know?”
“She told me. He hasn’t said anything to me about it, but I talked to her this morning, and she said he stopped by to see her.”
I could tell by Brandon’s tone that he was hopeful, that maybe this breakup was what Elliott had needed to remember he was still in love with Amanda. And maybe Amanda was a different person now that she was cleaned up and moving forward with her life, thanks to Elliott.
I didn’t know if it was a good idea for Brandon to get his hopes up about them getting back together, but I wanted to be supportive. So I smiled and said, “Well, it’s good that they’re talking to each other.”
“Yeah.” His nod was way more enthusiastic than mine had been. He didn’t say anything else, though, just turned the sound back up and settled back against the couch. I intertwined my fingers with his and tried to be the positive, supportive girlfriend who doesn’t point out that rarely do two people break up and then get back together for any stretch of time successfully. Maybe Brandon’s parents could be that one in a million.
