“In a manner of speaking, yes.” Anthony took my hand and concentrated on my face. My eyes darted around the room as my head hurt again.
I cleared my throat. “Are you trying to choke me with your mind? That doesn’t work. I’ve tried. On you.”
He chuckled. “No, I’m trying to exert calm over you, and it still isn’t working.”
My shocked eyes landed on his. “What do you mean itstillisn’t working? Oh my god, I thought I was having an aneurysm at my house, and you’re telling me that wasyou?How? And stop doing it, it hurts!” Not that I believed his story, but if somehow, hewasdoing it, he needed to stop immediately.
He backed away from me. “I don’t actually know. I sort of focus, and I can feel chaos. Once I can feel the chaos, I push calm emotions onto the chaos. With you, I can feel your chaos, but my calming has no effect except to give you headaches.”
My jaw unhinged. “I’m flabbergasted, Anthony. My husband and children disappeared, and I never got past it, not in the slightest. Then out of the blue, you show up and flip my meaningless life on its end. Now I’m being told you’re both vampires. Oh, and vampires exist!”
I flailed my arms around in consternation. “Michael is dead, but hey, he was a vampire, and my children are alive, safe, and are also vampires?”
I stopped flapping my hands and paced the kitchen. “Oh, yeah, by the way, Riley, nobody can calm your crazy down! I don’t know how to react! I don't have the first clue what to do. I’m incredibly confused. I’m angry and hurt. Elias, how could you lie to me for so long?” I leaned against the counter and ran my hands through my hair.
A stray thought entered my head, and I voiced it without thinking. “What else exists? What about elves or werewolves? Maybe Cthulu is real too?”
Elias, quiet during my tirade, entered the kitchen. “Elves and werewolves exist, as well as a host of other creatures. Cthulu goes by Chris, and he’s a nice guy. We had drinks in Wurzburg.”
Panicked laughter burst from my mouth. I gasped and bent over, clutching my stomach. My knees wobbled and tears streamed down my cheeks. It was too much.
“Riley, I realize it’s a lot to take in, but it’s not a joke.” Anthony seemed offended by my mirth.
“I know, I know. But, guys, seriously. Cthulu? Come on! My emotions are currently junk, you’ll have to get over it.” I rolled my eyes and sighed. “We have to come to some sort of resolution. I need some sort of proof of both the vampire thing and my children.”
Elias pulled out his phone. “Daniel and David are safe with my sister Tammy. She’s raised them since the day they left. She’s unable to have children of her own and has treated them as if she gave birth to them herself. I know that may not be comforting, but at least you know if they couldn’t be with you, they're cherished.” He swiped through several pictures before turning the phone to me.
I closed my eyes as he put the phone in my hand. Even though I was still skeptical, I prayed that he was telling the truth and I would recognize my boys. I’d give anything to find them safe and whole. Opening my eyes, I focused on a picture of two beautiful children. They were the appropriate ages. The older appeared to be about eleven and the younger around six. Zooming in on the older boy, I brought the phone close to my face. Dark blond hair hung down low over his eyes.
The sob—stuck in my chest for half a decade—broke free. Michael’s brow line and cocky smirk teased me from the image.David.The phone shook as I swiped the picture over to study the younger of the two. A warm hand touched my back. Anthony—he couldn’t stop himself from trying to calm me physically since his mind tricks wouldn’t work.
Daniel was still a baby when I’d seen him last, with my strawberry blonde hair and cheeks so round that everyone he met tried to pinch them. He’d been delightfully chubby, although he’d begun to slim down once he’d learned to walk a month before he was taken.
I didn't recognize myself or Michael in the child on the screen. Except for the hair that could’ve been swiped from my own head, I wouldn't have known him if I passed him on the street. He was skinny and tall for his age, and I couldn’t tell his eye color in the grainy cell phone photo.
Once again, my emotions warred. I was ecstatic that my sons were alive and healthy, yet I was tortured that I didn't recognize my Daniel.
“Do you have more?” I asked.
“I do. Swipe through, that album is full of them.”
I carried the phone to the living room and tucked myself into the corner of the couch. Elias sat on the floor at my feet, and Anthony settled in beside me, pulling my feet up onto his lap. Distracted by the pictures, I didn’t even notice him slipping my sneakers off until he was finished.
Scrolling through the images gave me a sense of peace. I swiped through them several times before sighing and setting the phone in my lap. “Please, E. Please take me to see my children. There’s got to be a way. You don’t have to tell them who I am.” I pleaded with Elias. “I’m sure it would confuse them. We’ll have to reintroduce me back into their lives carefully.” I would forgive the betrayal—I could leteverythinggo if they'd take me to my boys. Anything for them.
“I’ll believe everything you tell me, without complaint. I won’t fight you. I’ll listen to your entire story. Please, let me see them.” My heart bled as I begged.
“The only way I can think for you to be able to see them is if no one knows you’re there,” Anthony replied. I met his gaze, amazed to find a possible ally. “Our government, they take this stuff seriously. We wanted to tell you every moment of the last five years. We just didn’t want to die.”
“Why now? Why are you telling me now?” I clutched Elias's phone to my chest. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll do whatever you want if you take me to them.”
Elias grabbed my hand. “Riley, the first thing you must do is sleep. You slept what, a couple of hours last night? Honestly, you look like hell. Sleep while we plan a way to get you to see the boys,” he said. He continued before I could scream at him to take me to them immediately. “Riley, we can’t take you up there willy-nilly. We have to make a plan, and you might as well rest while we do.”
Maybe Anthony’s mind tricks worked better than he realized, because when they insisted I needed sleep, my body became exhausted. I finally registered that Anthony was rubbing my feet, and it was heavenly. I glared at his hands. “Okay, I’ll sleep. But I’m sleeping on this couch, and you have to stop rubbing my feet.” Anthony jerked his hands away. “I’ve agreed to do whatever you both say, and I will, in time, get over your disgusting betrayal, Elias, but that doesn’t mean I’m comfortable with either of you.”
Elias jumped up and pulled a blanket out of a corner cabinet. Anthony stood and grabbed a throw pillow from the chair next to the couch. They handed me the bedding, and I tucked myself in for a nap. “Now, go plan. When I wake up, I want to hit the road.”
My body relaxed into the overstuffed sofa, and I watched the men walk into the kitchen. I could see them sitting at the table from where my head lay on the pillow. My eyes grew heavy watching their lips move and I fell asleep with a heart swollen with hope.
