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I sprang from his lap and moved to stand at Liev's side. "Please."
Liev took a deep breath and slowly began to translate, his finger running between his notes and the journal. "What was buried will now be seen. The third eye does not deceive. The truth will be seen. The Visions of the past, the truth of the future. Powers revealed, powers revoked. A new life begins with the blood of eternal life and once silent hearts will beat again. An eternity of undead immortality when two lives forge. Two souls become one. Be vigilant for untruth. Be prepared for strife. Forged as one, your power is unity."
That was it? A paragraph of some sort of incantation? The book was filled with writing. “There has to be more?”
He handed me back the journal and a small smile played at the corners of his lips. "The rest is basically what I explained to you about what you are. If you need more information, you know where to find me. I can help you regain your memories. They don't have to stay in the past."
"We can trust him?" Glancing up at Stefan, he nodded a hesitant reply to my silent question. He cocked a blond eyebrow and wrapped a possessive arm around my waist.
"It's something Stefan and I need to discuss. How long will you be here, Liev? You can't keep up the charade here forever." I looked around the cramped office and I pressed closer to Stefan, shifting my weight from foot to foot. He'd been here for nearly 20 years and he looked the same. Surely someone had noticed. "You've been here awhile. Too long..."
He pushed back his black hair and grinned widely. "You are new to the world of the supernatural, Josephine. I was a witch a long time before I was a vampire. Humans see what they choose to see. I simply help them along."
I studied him for a few more seconds before I managed an answering smile. I still struggled reading people. I'd relied on my psychic abilities and they were long gone. Would I ever trust my gut instinct to learn to trust someone at face value? "Could you come to New York if we decide to proceed?"
Liev sat back down in his leather chair, the leather creaking under his weight. He folded his hands and met my stare before focusing back to Stefan. They exchanged a long look. "For you and for Garrett, I will. He was a good man." He opened a desk drawer and fished out a card. "This is my personal number. Call when you need me."
I slid his card in my back pocket. "Thank you."
Stefan inclined his head and led me towards the door. He opened it a crack when Liev's voice rang out.
"You'll be getting many surprises. Trust few and look within your inner circle. You have a wolf within the flock."
Stefan and I both froze. He found his voice before me. "A wolf? Explain."
Liev’s lips twisted into a somber smile. "Someone within your inner circle will betray you. You have a Judas in your midst."
"How do you know?" I sputtered. Yanking myself from Stefan's grasp, I was at Liev's desk in a blur. "Is my father..."
"I read your cards. As for your father...he will not stop. He has a mission, just as you do."
***
"Hello, Josie." I couldn't see through the darkness to the person speaking, but I could feel him there as if he was all around me, as if he was hidden in the darkness.
"Garrett?" my voice was coarse but quiet.
He stepped out of the shadows. Slim and well dressed in a dark suit, his brown hair was wavy and sprinkled with grey. His blue eyes were covered with his metal-framed glasses, the ones that always slipped down his nose when he was bent over a book.
"You're a little late if you're here to offer advice," I bantered. The lightness drained from my voice. "I found the journals. And your note."
"I wish I could reassure you," Garrett stood an arms length away, giving me room to breathe. "You look like you need someone to talk to."
"I..." I paused. "I feel like the only person I can trust is Stefan.”
He took off his glasses and polished them with a cloth he pulled from his pocket. "I know. And for that, I am truly sorry."
I watched him pocket the small square and slide his glasses back on. "Why is that?"
"This is not what I wanted for you. You were born into a life you didn’t ask for." He sighed loudly. "Josie, I should have told you who I was. I'm trying to right that wrong."
On cue my stomach clenched and a cold shiver ran up my spine. "It's funny. I said almost the same thing yesterday. If I would have known...I could have prevented this."
"You couldn't have stopped Kian. He would have killed us regardless." His voice had a hint of sorrow to it, and in that moment I felt weight lift from my shoulders. "Stefan had been waiting a long time for you. It was time."
Nodding, I stared down at my feet. I didn't know if I'd have this chance again. "Garrett, I'm sorry. You were a wonderful father...I realize that now. Things are going to get harder, aren't they?"
His hand clasped my shoulder, and even though it was freezing to the touch, I could sense the compassion. His voice dripped in empathy. "Things always look bleakest before the storm."
