Cadence couldn’t help but smile at hearing that the famous Vampire Hunter was a woman. Realizing she was still angry, she quickly brushed the smile off of her face. “You never mentioned any of that before.”
“There’s a lot I haven’t mentioned before. But Cadence, you’ve got to realize, as much as I would love to have Elliott back, it’s not a risk I’m willing to take. And he wouldn’t be either. I had no idea he knew about the portal. I’m wondering if that’s even what that letter meant.”
“What else could it possibly mean?”
“Who knows? Elliott was always saying weird clichés like that. He could have just as easily have said, ‘see you in the funny papers.’”
“But he didn’t. He wanted me to know so that, if something happened—and clearly he thought something was going to happen—I would come for him.”
It was Aaron’s turn to cross his arms, as he was clearly growing frustrated himself now. “That’s not what he meant, Cadence.”
“Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out,” she said, shooting up off of the couch.
“Cadence, you cannot open that portal,” Aaron said, stepping forward and placing his hands on her shoulders. “As much as you want Elliott back, believe me, it will be a disaster. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people will die.”
“If Elliott is here and he’s indestructible, then thousands of people will be saved,” she countered, resisting the urge to jerk away from him.
Shaking his head, he said, “It won’t be an even trade, Cadence. You have no idea what you’re getting us into. Besides, have you thought about the fact that Elliott will never be able to go back?”
“I know,” she assured him, staring into his eyes. “But he’s an adult. He can make that decision for himself.”
“With you there, likely crying, telling him how much you miss him? Finding out about Brandon and what happened to Cass? That’s not fair, Cadence.”
She was angry again now, so she shook free of him. “Don’t tell me what’s not fair, Aaron! In just over a year, I’ve lost three of my best friends, watched you die, and seen my sister turn into some sort of a freaking half-Vampire monstrosity. If I have the chance to fix one of those things, then, dammit, I’m going to take it.”
“Why do you have to decide this now?” he asked taking a step toward her as she retreated across the room.
“Because the next blue moon is Wednesday,” she said her hands on her hips.
“I don’t even think that’s the right kind of blue moon,” he countered.
“Well, my grandma says it is, and since she’s opened the portal before, I guess she would know,” Cadence shot back.
“I had no idea she had done that,” Aaron said with a sigh. “All right, listen, I know there’s nothing I can say at this point to change your mind. So do me a favor and go talk to Christian. Talk to anyone you think can help you make a wise decision, but don’t tell anyone who doesn’t need to know. The last thing we need are dozens of portals opening all over the world at the same time.”
“Why Christian?” Cadence asked.
“Because he was there when Hamilton came through, and he was there when we fought Dracula, too,” Aaron explained. “I’d say go talk to Hamilton, but he’s a recluse these days. He’s so upset about the decision he made, he’s nearly lost his mind.”
“Alexander Hamilton is alive?” Cadence mumbled. Of course, he had to be if the portal story was true. “And Christian knew him?”
“I have to go meet with Jamie,” Aaron said, not bothering to answer either of her questions. “Cadence, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it was for a good reason.”
“That’s your opinion,” she replied, sharply.
“I’ll be back in a bit,” he said, shaking his head.
“Bye, Felicia,” she said, dropping onto the couch.
He stopped a foot from the door and looked at her for a second before shaking his head again and walking out.
Cadence sighed in frustration, unable to believe everything she’d just heard. There wasn’t a Vampire in the world that she feared or thought she couldn’t take. Not Vlad, not Dracula, not anyone. Whatever hellish fiend this portal brought through, it couldn’t possibly be so dangerous that it wouldn’t be offset by having Elliott back.
And yet, she knew she would never convince Aaron to let her do this. If she was going to open the portal, she’d have to do it without his permission—which she didn’t feel she needed—and she’d have to find a way to do it in secret.
Sitting on the sofa staring at Elliott’s urn across the room, she realized that there was absolutely no way her fiancé would ever let her get away with this. He was bound and determined to prevent her. Without stopping to think about what she was doing, she went into the kitchen and grabbed a large plastic bag with a zipper lock. She returned to the fireplace and carefully pulled the urn down off of the mantel. “What am I doing?” she asked as she opened it and carefully poured the contents into the bag. Luckily, all of Elliott fit in his new container. Zipping it closed, she carefully set him aside, and used the fireplace tools to refill the urn with ashes from the fire. She dusted it off and returned the urn to its previous spot, careful to make sure everything looked exactly as it should. If anything was off, Aaron would definitely notice.
“You’re coming with me,” she said to Elliott as she picked up the bag and went to her bedroom. She found a backpack in the closet and carefully placed him inside. Upon second thought, she carried the whole thing back to the kitchen and used duct tape to make sure the bag couldn’t possibly work its way open. When she was satisfied that her friend was completely contained, she put the backpack on and said, “All right. Let’s go talk to Christian.”
