Where The River Flows Red

Twenty-One

Matoma- All Around The World

    The headache is still gone. I feel like I've been asleep forever. There's light around the thick curtains letting me know it's daylight outside. I sat up feeling the empty ache in my belly. Food, I can really go for something greasy and something really sweet right now. My mouth is salivating with just the thought of it. 

    "Hey," I opened the door to find Elijah there with his hand up ready to knock. He slightly startled me but I'm not too surprised. 

    "Hey," I greeted him. 

    "You're finally up. I was going to try and wake you up," 

    "By force?" I asked feeling like laughing. 

    "Yeah," he chuckled catching onto my mood. "You seem like you're doing a whole lot better," 

    "I feel like I am. The headache is gone and my memories are accessible right now. They stopped spinning," 

    "Good," he nodded. My stomach furthered this awkwardness with a loud demanding growl. I laughed feeling my face heat up, deeply. "Hungry?" 

    "What gave it away?" I asked, sarcastically. 

    "The angry pomeranian in your tummy," he answered. We both laughed when he moved out of the way to let me out into the hall. 

    "How long was I asleep for?" I asked. 

    "Two nights," he answered. 

    "That's why you were freaking out," I laughed. 

    "Yeah," he nodded. We both walked into the kitchen together. He motioned me to take a seat at the kitchen island. Memories of me and Silas doing this briefly passed through my thoughts like a mini-movie. "What are you in the mood for?" 

    "Big Mac, fries, and a hot fudge sundae," I answered.

    "That is super-specific. I thought girls were supposed to be indecisive about food," 

    "Not this one. Food is my vice," I smirked. "It's always been," 

    "I think we can sneak away for that. Your car is definitely fast enough," 

    I held up my key pod and tossed it at him. He took my hand and led me towards the front door. He put his index finger to his lips and then pulled me to him. I gasped when he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. I shivered as he rushed to the elevator with me in his arms. He never took his eyes off me. I stopped myself from laughing as we walked into the elevator. 

    "We should be safe for now," he mumbled. 

    He let go of me and took a step back. When the doors opened he offered me his hand. I took it without hesitation. He likes that. I can see it in the way his eyes light up more and more. We didn't say a word as we made our great escape. In almost no time, we were in the drive-thru. I can't stop smiling and I can't look over at him. 

    I shouldn't be doing this right now. My best play is to get away from Godrick while the Inner Circle still believes that I'm the heir. If they even suspect him a little, he and Analyse are dead. I looked down at the bags of food as Elijah began to drive back to the penthouse. 

    "I'm not running away with you," he sighed. 

    "What?" I asked. 

    "If you're what he said you are. We can't leave until you've transitioned. It'll be a few days. Everyone is looking at you right now. They want to know when and if you will survive. Once you get your fangs, we can go. The power you're about to activate fully is going to be enough to keep them looking at you. We can plan to keep us on the move long enough for Godrick to figure out where your parents are," 

    "What if they come for us while I'm vulnerable?" 

    "I'd never let anything happen to you. As much as I hate it, I wouldn't let anything happen to Godrick either. We don't see eye to eye but he's important to you and the survival of our race, so. I'm one hundred percent on the same page with you right now," 

    "Thanks," I nodded and finally looked up at him. "All of this must be really confusing for you," 

    "It's not for you?" 

    "No, not the purpose of it. I just-" 

    "Your upbringing?" he offered when I didn't want to actually say it out loud. I nodded. 

    "I don't know what I'm feeling right now. I just need something to keep my thoughts grounded. There are so many memories. I just- everything feels trivial. I need to see all of it in order to really come up with a plan. Dad had a plan but I can't get to it just yet. It's there but it's in bits and pieces and it's difficult to decipher what goes where. Everything looks the same for the most part," 

    "Okay, we start with writing down what you see. We can lay it all out and then try to put the puzzle together. Maybe after you transition, it'll all make more sense," he suggested. I nodded. 

    Godrick is standing in the middle of the living room when we walked in. I laughed only making his expression worse. He went as far as crossing his arms over his chest. What really stands out to me is his scent. He took my advice and it totally worked. Hey, I'm good at being a mean girl. Who would have thought?

    "In his defense, you would have been pissed if he would have left me alone. This was the only solution we came up with in that moment," 

    "You could have ordered," he shook his head. 

    "Oh yeah. I didn't think of that," I nodded. "Next time," 

    "Next time," he rolled his eyes. "Give me your keys," 

    "What?" I complained. He extended his hand out for me to put the small pod into it. "Fine," 

    "Here," Elijah gave it to him. He took it and put it in the front pocket of his jeans. 

    "You smell like her," I accused him. 

    "That's none of your business," 

    "It was when you asked for my advice," I shrugged. 

    "It's not anymore," he smirked. 

    "You're welcome," I laughed. He rolled his eyes. 

    "Thanks," he winked. He didn't even glance at Elijah as he walked out. We both heard the click of the door on the other side and I can feel the buzzing of his powers sealing the door shut. 

    "I've never been locked in an apartment with a boy before," I laughed. 

    "He hasn't thought it through yet," he grinned. 

    "Keep your hands off of her until she's transitioned," Godrick barged back in pointing at Elijah. 

    "Now he has," he laughed. 

    "Raven will be right up," Godrick added. 

    "Right," he nodded. "My little sister," 

    "I will f**k you up again," Godrick threatened. 

    "Okay," Elijah smirked. Godrick rolled his eyes in the most dramatic way possible before leaving. "That's who you are actually related to," 

    "You have an evil twin brother," I reminded him. 

    "True," 

    "If he's not the dramatic one, you are," I added. 

    "No," 

    "Is he the dramatic one? I know he's a simp," 

    "Did you just call my brother a simp?" he asked.

    "Are you going to tell me he's not?" I asked. I jumped on the couch and began to take my food out of the bags. 

    "No, I just-" he laughed. "He is. I just never thought of it that way. My sister has always been my main priority. It never once crossed my mind that he would love her like that. He's kind of a piece of s**t with everything else. I've seen him kill on command without remorse,"

    "Do you have remorse?" I asked as I put a fry in my mouth. 

    "When I kill?" he looked up at me with curiosity. 

    "I've done it. When I was on the run with my dad. I killed a lot of people. Granted I didn't know what I was doing. I was protecting myself and my dad. But I don't regret it," 

    "At all?" he asked. 

    "No, it was them or us. Sometimes it was close to being us," 

    "Tell me about that. What do you remember?" 

    "Well, everything and nothing. I remember the first time I opened my eyes. I was warm and then I wasn't.  I wasn't warm again for a really really long time. I remember Godrick being there. I remember the woman on the table telling my dad to go. 

    "There was a car ride and I was being fed while my dad was trying his best to protect the car that we were in from being shot. The woman that was with us was hit through the front window. I stayed in her arms for about an hour before my dad pulled over and ditched the car. 

    "Then there were a lot of different rooms. Lots of yelling. Lots of anger. After a couple of months, dad started talking to me. Showing me things. Teaching me how to build weapons, simple outdoor activities to survive outside in case I was stranded outside. He spoke to me in languages. So many. Strategy. Training. He would fight with trusted men who he invited to where we were. He would make me watch. All of it. There's so much information. It activates like an instinct. Makes me feel a little like a machine," 

    "Your dad did it to protect the both of you," he tried to make me feel better when I stopped. 

    "Yeah, but it feels like it's more than that. There are bits and pieces of conversations that he had with some people that are a bit alarming. They hailed my dad like he was some sort of messiah. Why wasn't my mom more concerned with what was happening to me. She called and she never asked for me by name. She would ask my dad where is she? He'd give her a flat answer and that was it," 

    "You doubt their intentions?" 

    "I don't. Everything I have seen. Everything my dad went through to keep me on the move. It speaks for itself. I just want to know why. Why were they hunting us? I don't buy the excuse we were sold. I feel like there's more to it. I just want to know why their own people hung them up the way they did. What did they do? What caused the people to rebel? Do you know what I mean? Throughout history, there has always been a reason why people do the things they do. Always. It's never just because they're scared. What scared them?" 

    "I get what you mean," he nodded. 

    "I'm here," Raven barged in through the doors and waltz in with Silas following behind her. 

    "What are you doing here?" I asked, standing up. 

    "I brought him. He said he wanted to talk," Raven shrugged. "We brought snacks," 

    "Snacks?" Elijah asked. She put two bags down and then three more from Silas. 

    "Yeah, good stuff. None of that drive-thru s**t you love so much," 

    "Thanks," I smiled. 

    "Come over here, Silas. We're not going to bite. I prefer your cute little blonde fiance," Raven winked at her. Silas glared at her before coming over to sit next to me. 

    "I wanted to be the one to tell you that Ebony is going to be transferred to England next week for trial. Analyse being the new vampire Queen changes the magnitude of the assault," he looked down at his hands. "Mom and dad were demoted for illegally housing a youngling. Especially a pureblood," 

    "And you?" I asked. 

    "I took dad's place. I was promoted last night. As soon as Sam and I get married we're taking over the Bourne house name. I also wanted to let you know that you and Godrick have been summoned by the higher council," he placed an invitation on the coffee table where Raven is setting up a bunch of sushi, meats, and other kinds of fancy foods. 

    "Are we required to go?" I asked, looking up at Elijah. 

    "Yeah," he nodded. "It's one of the biggest rules in the hierarchy. It's treaty demand," 

    "I'm really sorry about your parents and Ebony," I looked over at Silas. 

    "They're your parents too. Blood-related or not," 

    "Okay," I shrugged. 

    "What the hell is he doing here, Mila?" Godrick walked in with Ana right behind him. I'm Mila? I like it. 

    "I didn't invite him," I laughed. 

    "I did. Sit down grumpy pants," Raven patted the couch next to her. "Hey, Ana. Looking cute," 

    "Thanks," Ana smiled and came over to sit on my left. 

    "This is for you," I handed Godrick the invitation. 

    "f**k," he rolled his eyes and tossed it back on the table. "Congrats on making king," 

    "Didn't want it," Silas shrugged. I handed him a plate with everything I know he likes. He smiled at me. "Thanks," 

    "It doesn't matter if you wanted it or not. You got it. You gotta take your place. From what Mila tells me, I think you should do just fine. Give them what they need, kid. Show them why they need it," Godrick nodded. I smiled at him. 

    "Thanks," Silas nodded. 

    "Any word on Cas yet?" Raven asked. 

    "She called me earlier. Zac took her down to New Orleans," Elijah answered. 

    "I have them working on something for me," Godrick confirmed. 

    "What?" I asked. Everyone looked up at me like I had grown another head. 

    "I know a guy down there who's really good at binding sigils. You said you wanted to look for mine," everyone then turned to look at him probably because he answered. 

    "Cool," I nodded. "So this is our inner circle?" 

Godrick looked up around the room. 

    "Add psycho Zachariah and their crazy sister Cas and yeah," he nodded. "Oh, and Sam. She's really good at hacking s**t. She was the one that got me into the computer I used to change the hearing results for Casshmeir and Bruce," 

    "What were the real results?" Silas asked. 

    "Death," Godrick answered.