Lara Jade's Point of View:
I didn't know if he was still out there or not, but I had to slow down my breathing before he became suspicious. But how could one focus on something so simple as deep breathing when there were mind-controlling demons sitting outside? What if he found out that his little mind trick didn't work on me? Would he try it again? Or would he just kill me and my father? Oh, God. Dad! I slowly reached out to touch his wrist, keeping my eyes on the tent flap as I did so. His pulse was slow, but steady. He was sound asleep.
"Dad?" I breathed as I shook his shoulder. "Dad?" I tried a couple more times, but he didn't stir once, which scared me at first, until I remembered the order Alex gave him: do not stir until sunrise. Please let that be the only reason he wasn't waking. It was scary to think that there were things out there that could control anyone to this extent. I bit down on my lower lip hard to keep from hyperventilating and possibly crying out.
I was scared… and I wasn't ashamed to admit it; I mean, who in their right mind wouldn't be?! But I had to focus on something else before I drew it's attention from outside, either through my almost-silent sobs or the rustling of my sleeping bag as I rocked back and forth.
So, in order to calm myself and create a diversion, I started mouthing Bible verses in my head about God's boundless love for me which segued into old hymns we sing in church. It brought me back to a time when I was a little girl, scared of the shadows on the wall, and my mother would curl up on the bed next to me, singing in her soft alto the songs that I also knew by heart, even at that age.
The night was long and brutal, but by lights first rays, Dad finally started to rouse. By that time, my tears had dried up but my face still probably broadcast the awfulness I'd witnessed.
"Dad!" I whispered as I flung my arms around him.
"Ugh! Hey, Pumpkin. What time is it?" I released him only so I didn't seem rabid. "Good grief… Lara Jade, why are you up at five o'clock in the morning?"
"I– couldn't sleep." Then, struggling for a subject changer I replied, "You seemed pretty out of it though."
"Yeah… that was probably the best night of sleep I've gotten in a while… which is probably I'm up at this hour too." There was an almost guilty twinkle in his eye, as if he felt bad for actually sleeping soundly just two weeks after he lost his wife. "So do you want to start the fire or make breakfast? I was thinking eggs and pancakes."
"Sounds good. I'll get the fire," I muttered as I reached for the zipper.
Afraid of what I might find outside, dead bodies or the living dead, I unzipped the flap slowly, my hand shaking uneasily.
I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but a breath filled with relief whooshed from my lungs anyway.
Alexander's Point of View:
I kept my distance for the rest of the weekend, unsure if my compulsion worked. I was concerned when she came out of the tent early that morning and looked around, but after that, she displayed no indications that she remembered anything from last night. The real trial would come tomorrow at school, especially in that oaf, Hammer's class.
The vampire that attacked her last night did not return, either because I remained steadfast or because he had had his fill of fun. All the while, I thought about all of the people from my past who also knew Amelie. She was not kind, so enemies would not have been a rare sight, but she has also been dead for three hundred years. Surely, in that time, word about her death would have spread throughout the rest of the vampire community. But if that were the case then why would someone return to Beaufort and hunt Lara? If it was a vampire last night, of which I had no doubt, then he would have heard the blood that flows in her veins, thus knowing Lara was, in fact, human.
Unless, Lara was right… No. My brother was dead. It wasn't possible for him to be alive. She was in shock and had it wrong. Likewise, if she saw her aggressor's face change like mine, it was safe to assume she thought us related.
I wanted to believe that the attacks on her were not connected to Amelie in the least, that it was just another vampire scoping her out because of her extraordinary talents. And it could be, it really could be… except I had this annoying feeling in my gut that told me otherwise.
Whoever it was, he were being extremely careful not to be detected. Like a shadow, he slipped from my grasp before I could catch him. Knowing to stay out of earshot, upwind, and out of sight were characteristics of an old hunter that knew what he was doing.
No matter; I would find out who it was eventually... For Lara's sake, I had to.