15. Fran

FIFTEEN

fran

Thorne, Alex, and I are covered in dirt and mud, and even though I hate to admit it, I'm starving. Running to find Thorne and back to New Orleans has used most of my energy. Topher has us loaded into a different vehicle and is driving across the Quarter to a home that belongs to Amelia. None of us have spoken since we started driving.

The overload of information floating through my brain is almost more than I can keep straight. I have no doubt Alex has heard every bit of it, as I don't have enough energy to hide my thoughts right now.

Topher stops in front of a large home that is the picture-perfect example of New Orleans architecture. Wrought iron gates, adorned with Fleur de Lis, surround the three-story home. The yard looks like a full-time gardener lives here with rose bushes of every color lined next to the fencing. "This is beautiful," I interrupt the silence.

"It's always been one of my favorites." He turns to the back seat. "There's someone inside that Amelia and I want you to meet." God, I don't want to meet anyone. I just want a hot shower and a meal.

"That sounds great," I lie. Alex looks at me as I speak. "Sometimes you have to pretend," I send him a message. He nods and smirks.

Topher leads us into the elaborate mansion, stopping in the foyer. "We're here!" he yells into the house.

Seconds later, an older woman is standing in front of us. She's wearing a vintage dress, and her white hair is perfectly styled and piled on top of her head. Vampire energy flows from her as she turns toward Alex. "Hello, little one. My name is Fran."

Alex holds his hand out to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Fran. My name is Alex."

She shakes his hand. "Would you care for something to eat, Alex?"

His eyes open wide. "Yes, please." He turns toward me. "Do you have anything for Elsie and Thorne?"

"I do." She turns toward the two of us. "It's a pleasure to meet you both." She motions to several soft-looking seats in the living area. "Please, have a seat. I'll grab you some blood."

Thorne and I follow Alex into the exquisitely decorated living room. The three of us sit on the sofa, with me sandwiched in the middle, while Topher heads into a room on the other side of the foyer. Fran returns minutes later with three bottles of bright red liquid. My stomach growls at the sight.

"There's plenty more where that came from. Don't be shy." Fran sits in a matching chair across from us. "Amelia's told me about you." I smile, not sure what to say. She turns her attention to Alex. "You're quite remarkable, young man. I can sense your abilities and strength."

"Is that good?" Alex asks.

"Fran was Celeste's nanny," Topher interrupts, coming back into the room.

"The immortal child, Celeste?" Alex slides forward on the couch, suddenly more interested in the conversation. "The one like me?"

"For many centuries," Fran answers. "I love her like she's my own."

"Where is she?"

"She's living in Mississippi with the love of her life." Fran laces her fingers together as she speaks. Her body language tells me she misses the girl.

"Is she with another immortal child?"

Fran scoffs. "No. She's with the Alpha lycanthrope of North Mississippi, and she's no longer a child."

"How is that possible?" he asks.

"Witchcraft. It came at a great cost for both her and her father." She sighs before turning toward Thorne. "Viktor was your maker. "

"Aye. He was a great man. I respected him very much. I'm confused how we never met."

The older vampire smiles. "My job was to care for Celeste. His job was to protect her with his life in business and in love."

"I learned a great deal from him," Thorne answers.

"He was full of information." She huffs a laugh at her words.

"Can I do that?" Alex's words are no louder than a whisper. "Can I use witchcraft to grow?"

Fran and Topher share a look. "That's a conversation for another day," Topher answers.

Surprisingly, Alex doesn't argue. "Topher says I might be able to meet her, to meet Celeste."

Fran smiles. "I don't see why not. I can put in a good word for you."

"Fran is more than just a nanny. She's somewhat of a technological genius." Topher nods his head toward the elderly vampire.

The woman blushes slightly, waving her hand at the lycanthrope. "You flatter me, Christopher."

"I've asked her to look into possible local places Patrice might have taken the girls."

Fran moves across the room, sliding a pocket door under the stairwell. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you my top contenders."

We enter a room that looks like something from a spy movie or television show. Computer screens line the walls, and a control center sits in the middle. Fran begins typing, pulling images up on all the screens. "These are the places that I've narrowed down as possible hideouts."

I stare at the screens, seeing different buildings, most looking abandoned. "How many is that?"

"Forty-two," she answers.

"How the hell are we supposed to check forty-two buildings?" I ask.

"I have a pack of lycan—" Topher starts.

"No," I interrupt. You saw how effective that was in Alabama." My words come out more harshly than intended.

"What are you not telling us?" Alex asks, staring at the elderly vampire in silence, no doubt, reading her thoughts. He turns toward a screen on the far wall. "This is where she thinks they'll most likely be."

Fran wrinkles her forehead. "I was getting to that part, young man." She moves closer to Alex, staring him in the eyes.

"Yes," he answers. She repeats the motion, and Alex answers again. "I've had it since I was changed."

"I'll be damned," Fran exclaims, clapping her hands loudly. "I always knew it was a possibility but have never seen it until now." She moves closer to Alex. "You're special, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Thorne speaks for the first time since arriving.

"I'm talking about the vampire council and why immortal children are outlawed. "

"They're outlawed because of their inability to control their emotions," Topher answers.

Fran shrugs. "Maybe. I've always had other theories behind the law."

"Because Alex can hear other people's thoughts?" I ask, confused.

"That, among other things." She types quickly on the keyboard, pulling up what looks like ancient writing from an even older looking book. "I took the liberty to upload both Harrison's and Viktor's libraries into one source a few months back."

"Harrison?" I ask. "The one who nearly killed Amelia?"

"The very same." She zooms in on the document.

"That's Sanskrit," Alex announces, staring at the screen.

Fran turns toward the child. "Can you read Sanskrit?"

He shakes his head. "No, but I recognize a few of the characters."

"There's not much mentioned, but I remember reading this not too long ago." She pushes a button on the keyboard, and the unfamiliar language translates into English. She highlights a passage. "How about now? Can you read that to us, Alex?"

" A child inflicted with the blood of a vetala may hold power in their body. " He turns toward the rest of us. "What is a vetala?"

"They were believed to be spirits inhabiting the bodies of the dead," Fran answers. "It's a fancy way of saying vampire." She types a few more things, pulling up an old black-and-white photograph. "This is a picture of what was believed to be an immortal child from the late 1800s."

I stare at the image of a beautiful young girl. An oversized bow holds her perfectly styled ringlets in place. She's smiling, displaying two tiny pointed teeth hanging over her bottom lip. The caption under her picture reads, "Telekinesis."

Fran pulls up another picture—this one of an older boy. The photograph looks to be from around the same time period. The caption under his picture reads, "Telepathy."

"Like me," Alex says from behind.

"I found these pictures, among several others, hidden deep in some government archives." She looks around the room. "Don't ask."

"What are you saying?" Topher asks.

"I'm saying that there have been records of immortal children that are like Alex throughout time. Children that have special abilities."

"Amelia and I had that discussion. We're thinking the same."

"I couldn't read minds until…until she turned me." Alex's voice is full of sadness.

Fran shrugs. "Maybe it was something you always had, but when you turned, the ability was enhanced or brought to the surface. "

"My sisters?" His eyes are wide as he looks at me.

"Do your sisters have abilities?" Fran asks.

"Autumn does. She has telekinesis. We haven't discovered what Everly can do, yet."

"These are the girls your mother took with her?"

He nods. "The rest are gone."

"Were they…special?" she asks.

"No," he whispers. "They were nothing but killing machines. That's what she called them." Tears form in Alex's eyes with his words.

Without a word, Fran walks to the immortal child and wraps her arms around his tiny body. "My goodness, you remind me so much of my Celeste. She was strong and wise beyond her physical age. She's going to love you when she meets you." Alex pulls back, wiping his cheeks.

"Thank you, Miss Fran."

She huffs a laugh. "You're already sounding like a Southerner."

"She's going to try to find more," Alex adds. "More special children like me and my sisters."

"We're not going to let that happen," Topher answers. "Fran, can you pull up those locations again?"

She types a few seconds on the keyboard, and the locations pop back to the monitors. "Alex is correct. This is the one I think has the highest probability of her being there." She enlarges the screen, showing what looks like a warehouse .

"What do you think?" Thorne asks Alex as the boy stares at the building.

He shrugs. "I don't know. Patrice picked the places we stayed at random. The one thing they had in common was they were all isolated."

"This building certainly fits that criterion. It's on the other side of the river and barely standing." Fran huffs. "It's where I'd hole up if I were trying to do the same."

"What are we waiting for?" Alex asks the group.

"We can't just go in there with guns blazing," Fran answers. "If she is in that building, instinct tells me she's not alone. She had help from someone." My mind instantly flashes back to the sulfur smell in my room at the church. I haven't shared that information with anyone. Other than hoping to hide it from my mind, I don't have a good reason as to why.

"She's going to hurt them." Sadness sounds through Alex's voice. "Without me to choose the next children, she'll force Autumn and Everly to do it. If they choose wrong…" he doesn't finish his sentence. He doesn't have to.

"Did you choose Autumn and Everly?" Fran asks the immortal child.

"Yes."

"Did you know they were special when you chose them?"

He shakes his head. "Maybe?"

"Can you explain that?" Fran persists .

"I don't know. The way they thought was different. I'm not sure how to explain it." He sighs. "Most people think in words or images. If they think about a red apple, and they see some sort of apple. It will vary in color, size, and stuff like that. Autumn and Everly were different."

"How did they think?" I ask, coaxing him on.

He turns toward me. "Like you."

Every eye in the room turns in my direction. "How do I think, Alex?"

He shrugs. "Think about an apple." I do as he suggests, picturing the bright red apple in my mind. "Now, do something with the apple."

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"Take a bite from the apple, rotate it." He shrugs. "Do something specific."

I close my eyes, envisioning the juicy red fruit. Lifting my hand to the apple, I pull it toward my mouth, feeling the smoothness of the skin, and take a bite. The sensation of fruity sweetness fills my palate. I haven't had an apple in over three hundred years, but the memory of the flavors satisfies my taste buds.

My eyes open to everyone staring at me in anticipation. "What happened?" Thorne asks.

"I tasted the apple." The sweetness is still in my throat. I swallow self-consciously, not sure what to think. "Is that not normal?"

"No," Alex answers .

"What does that mean?" Topher asks the question I want to know the answer to.

"I think it means you're like me."

I scoff. "Alex, I mean no offense, but there has to be more than that to determine if someone is special."

He shrugs. "I'm sure there is, but that's the way I do it. Elsie, you have a gift. I can tell."

I look into each set of eyes staring at me. "I don't have a gift. That's ridiculous."

"You're stronger than you should be, Elsie." Thorne's words remind me of Amelia's on the beach.

"You all don't believe that, do you?" No one responds.

……

We make plans to meet everyone at the lycan bar in four hours. Alex, Thorne, and I need to clean up, and Fran graciously offers her home for us to do just that.

Since arriving, Alex has had three bottles of blood, while Thorne and I have had two. It's not the worst thing I've had to drink, but it's certainly not the best. The room Fran directed us to is ornately decorated and screams vampire vibes. After making sure Alex was situated and has everything he needed, Thorne and I do the same.

Thorne's energy has been off since arriving at the house. After taking a shower and finding clothes that fit, he's been staring into the empty fireplace for long enough that I'm concerned.

I move behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist. "What's going on?"

He squeezes my hand, pulling it to his lips. "I don't know what you mean."

"Something's bothering you." I move in front of him, pulling his attention toward me. "Talk to me, my love."

"I'm sorry," he says, tears filling his eyes.

"Why are you sorry?"

He pulls away, moving toward a window on the opposite side of the room. "I somehow feel like this is all my fault."

I stare at the man who pursued me for three hundred years. "How the hell is this your fault?"

"I should've never let him take you," he repeats his words from weeks ago.

"Thorne, I…"

"No," he interrupts. "I just stood there and watched as he took you from the deck of my ship. I was the captain. It was my ship. Instead of fighting him, I allowed him to take you."

"You didn't allow him to do anything. No one allows Kragen to do anything. I don't blame you. I blame him."

"You should blame me." He runs a hand through his hair. "I do." I don't know what to say. "What if what Alex says about you is right? "

"That I'm somehow special?" I scrunch my forehead, not sure where he's going with this.

"Aye." He makes eye contact with me. "What if that's the reason he took you?"

"You think Kragen took me because I'm a freak?"

"You're not a freak, and nothing else makes sense."

I sigh. "Kragen admitted to taking me because your crew killed, or he thought they killed, Eudora."

"Aye, maybe that was part of it. But I can tell you one thing. If you were killed by a group of humans, I would've destroyed every damn one of them, leaving nothing behind."

"What are you saying?"

He turns, facing me. "Kragen knows more about you than he's letting on. It's why he's obsessed with you. You have something he wants."