Chapter 56
Eliza was crying, apologizing, making excuses. “I’m sorry,” she said, wiping at her nose with the back of her hand. They were sitting at a table in a small storage room just outside the conference room. He had told the rest of the team they could debrief without them, and Elliott was going over things with them now. Aaron was doing his best to stay calm while she tried to catch her breath. As angry as he was that she’d almost caused a disaster during the hunt at the zoo, the important thing was that she learned a lesson from all of this.
Her breath catching in her throat so that she could hardly get the words out, Eliza stuttered, “I just… you said we were team one.” She plucked a tissue out of a box near her elbow and blew her nose.
After giving her a moment to attempt to settle down, he took a deep breath. “No, I did not say you were team one,” Aaron insisted. “I said you were team two.”
“You said team one,” she repeated.
“Would you like to see the recording?” Playing it back for her would be pretty simple, but he was sure she had to know she was mistaken. There was no chance everyone else was on the wrong page and she was the only one who had it right.
“No, I just… fine. I guess I just didn’t have enough training.”
“Eliza, you’ve completed your training. It’s not that you don’t know what you’re supposed to do, you just don’t listen. How many times when we get out in the field do I have to repeat my instructions to you?”
“I thought you liked having those private conversations with me,” she replied batting her eyes at him, even though tears continued to stream down her face.
“I like it when people pay attention the first time.” He ran his hand through his hair and slammed his hands down on the table, his frustration finally catching up to him. It shook slightly, and she leaned back, her shoulders up around her ears for a moment. “Listen, Eliza, a lot of people think I should have assigned you to another area.”
“Aaron, no!” She said his name as if it had three syllables. “How can you say something like that? You love me.”
“Do I?” he asked. “Eliza, is what everyone is telling me true? Have you been… doing something to me? To my mind?”
“Yeah,” she said, leaning forward and putting her hand on his arm. “It’s called love.”
The look in her eyes had shifted, and though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, he could see that she was doing something. Yet, he felt nothing. Maybe his friends were right all along. Regardless of what had happened before, he knew how he felt right now. “Eliza, I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”
She burst into tears. “No, Aaron. Please. Give me another chance. You can’t do this!”
He continued, ignoring her. “I’ll allow you to stay on the team as long as you show me you can follow directions, though you are now on probation and will need to complete recurrence training and sit out at least the next three hunts before you have another chance in the field.”
“Aaron,” she said, grabbing his arm with both hands, “please. Don’t do this to me. I love you. I want to be with you. I need to be with you. You’re the only one I care about. I will die without you.”
“I’m sorry, Eliza,” he replied, pulling away from her and standing.
“No!” she screamed. “I mean it! I’ll kill myself.”
He felt sorry for her, he really did, but he knew that wasn’t even possible even if she did mean it. “Go home. Get some rest. We’ll talk about the probation again later.”
As he walked out of the room, he heard her beginning to sob again behind him, so he closed the door, hoping to give her some time and some privacy.
Everyone was gone when he walked out except for Elliott. “You okay?” he asked.
“Just peachy.”
“It’ll be okay, bossman,” he assured him, pounding him on the shoulder.
“I’m an idiot,” Aaron replied, quietly, shaking his head.
“I don’t know if I’d go that far….”
“Seriously. Don’t ever let me do this again, okay? I mean it. No more dating teammates. You see me falling for a girl on this team, you do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening, got it?”
“Is that an order?” Elliott asked.
“Yes. Absolutely,” Aaron confirmed.
“You got it, bossman,” Elliott nodded. “Just remember you said that the next time some pretty girl comes along and you start to remember you have a heart.”
“This is never happening again,” Aaron said as he walked toward the exit.
“Famous last words,” Elliott mumbled. “Famous last words.”
Aaron walked out into the night sky and took a deep breath. A thousand stars twinkled above him. Even though he could no longer see most of them, he knew they were there. He remembered them from long ago, from the small village of Killarney, Ireland. He remembered a girl with long red hair and sparkling green eyes, one he’d kissed beneath these same stars, one he’d promised to love forever. Since he’d last held her in his arms, he had seen many unexplainable, wondrous things. He’d witnessed historical events and met legendary individuals. He was part of a team of people who protected mankind against a terrifying enemy they didn’t even know existed. Just like the stars, even though he couldn’t always see them, he knew they were out there, and he knew it was his job to protect the innocent. Even if it was a solitary existence, there was nothing he would rather do. He may never find true love again, but he’d had it once, and the memories of Aislyn’s sweet face, shining in the starlight were enough.
Villisca, Iowa, America, 2014
Occasionally, the Vampires were given leave to gather, to celebrate, so long as no innocent humans were hurt against their will, and tonight the undead would be gathering in Villisca, Iowa, a small town with a reputation involving an axe murderer. It seemed fitting.
Eidolon Festivals predated both Aaron and Jordan’s stints as Guardian Leader. The rules were complicated, and he had met with his team to clarify before any of them even stepped foot on the Vampire’s sacred ground that night. So long as a human chose to go off with a Vampire, there could be no interference. Their job was only to protect those who said no. It was an acquiescence to the complicated balance of power that made little sense to him, but as Guardian Leader, it was his duty to make sure that this agreement was honored.
Tonight, however, things may be different. Tonight, there was a great possibility that the powers of darkness may collide with a force of good beyond anything they’d ever experienced before. Holland would be there; of that he was certain, and she knew the potential that evening had for changing the Ternion forever.
He only hoped she didn’t do anything foolish.
After going over the rules of the Eidolon Festival to his team, he made one more command, one that seemed to contradict everything else he’d just said. It was necessary, however. If Holland and her minions didn’t stir anything up, everything would be fine. Otherwise, he couldn’t be held responsible for what happened next.
He heard his teammates make the call he was expecting about an hour after the festival had started, but he didn’t need to hear it to know she was there. He could feel it, feel the shift in power, feel the electricity in the air. Cadence Findley had arrived, and from that moment on, nothing in Aaron McReynold’s life would ever be the same.
