Vengeance (The Captive #6)(10)
“Something I’d like for you to see,” Braith replied. “Somewhere else though.”
The bell hanging over the front door rang, drawing her attention to it as Jack and Hannah stepped inside. “We’ll go to their home,” she said.
Braith glanced over at them and gave a brisk nod. Melinda and Ashby exchanged a puzzled look before rising to their feet. Aria waved to Daniel and the others; she jerked her head toward the door and gestured for them to follow.
“I’d like to use your house and for you to come with me,” Braith said to Jack when they reached the door.
The smile slipped from Jack’s face. “What is it?”
“There’s something you must know,” Braith replied.
Jack pushed the door open for Braith. Aria pulled her hood up before stepping into the frigid winter air. She walked beside Braith to the newly built, gray-shingled house Hannah and Jack shared. Hurrying forward, Jack opened the door and turned on the lanterns as he moved through the house to the dining room at the back of it.
Braith placed the box on the table then opened it. He began to carefully remove the yellowed and wrinkled documents from within. The aged aroma of the weathered documents filled the air. “What are those?” Melinda inquired.
“Journals, some belonged to Atticus,” Braith replied.
Melinda recoiled from the papers as if they were a rattlesnake ready to strike. Jack’s eyes took on the glint of ice when he lifted his head to look at Braith. “What are you doing with them?” he demanded.
Removing the last of the documents from the box, Braith rested his hand on top of them and turned to face his brother and sister. “Aria discovered them in a secret room of father’s.”
Jack folded his arms over his chest. “Father, is it?”
“Read them,” Braith said.
“I’d rather take a stake to the heart.”
“Jack,” Hannah whispered and slid her hand into his.
“There was a time I would have too.” Braith’s gaze slid to Aria before he continued speaking, “But there are details and facts in here you need to know. Answers you never even knew there were questions to.” Those words had been the ones she’d uttered to him when she’d first brought him the box of journals and letters. His gaze fixed on Melinda. “You, especially, will find something extremely interesting within these pages.”
Melinda still looked like she would prefer to run barefoot over a field of glass, but she reluctantly approached the table. Her brow furrowed as she stared at the yellowed pages and faded handwriting. “Who is Genny?” she inquired.
Xavier took a step forward; his curiosity piqued by the old books and Melinda’s question. “A vampire,” Braith replied.
Melinda glanced at him, but she finally settled into the seat. Her fingers lingered on the first page of the journal before she finally began to flip through the pages. Ashby stood over her shoulder, reading along with her. At first, Melinda flipped speedily through the pages, but her hand slowed, and her brow cleared as her attention became riveted on the words.
Jack stepped forward but Braith stopped him from grabbing a different book. “They should be read in order.”
Melinda handed the first journal over to him when she finished reading through it. Jack and Hannah read it together before passing it on. Daniel, Max and Timber weren’t as good at reading as Jack, Hannah, Melinda, Ashby and Xavier, but they steadily made their way through the books.
Aria stood by watching all of them for a good hour or so before roaming out of the room to stare out the front windows of the house. She paced through the confines of the home before wandering back to the room to rejoin the others. Braith remained unmoving in the corner of the room, his hands clasped behind his back. His eyes burned into hers when she walked over to stand beside him.
Melinda’s face had taken on an ashen hue. Tears brimmed in her eyes when she finished with the last journal. She remained unmoving, her hands folded in her lap as she stared at the far wall.
“Are you all right?” Aria asked nervously. Out of them all, Melinda would have gotten the biggest shock from the journals.
Ashby rested his hands on her shoulders; he pulled her back against his chest, as she remained lost in her own thoughts for a few minutes. Finally, she relaxed beneath his touch. “Yes, I’m fine. It’s just not what I expected.”
“It’s not what I expected either,” Braith said. “The fact he wasn’t your father changes nothing, between us.”
She hastily wiped away the tear sliding down her cheek. “Are you sure?” she whispered.
“I always am,” Braith replied with a smile. He walked over to squeeze his sister’s hand reassuringly.
Jack closed the last book and handed it over to Xavier; he pulled Hannah up against his chest and hugged her close. “We’re both sure,” Jack said to Melinda. “It changes nothing.”
Another tear slipped free of Melinda’s gray eyes; she smiled at both of her brothers before squeezing Ashby’s hand. “Who knew we would ever have a small understanding of that man,” she murmured.
“Certainly not me,” Jack said.
“Amazing,” Xavier murmured. “There’s so much history within these pages I never knew of, lives I’d never heard of. I always suspected Atticus had something to do with my father’s death, but there was no way to prove it.” He didn’t sound angry over this new bit of information, only somewhat distracted and awed as he reclaimed the first book and opened the pages again. She knew well how riveted he could become in anything pertaining to history. “May I look through these again?” he inquired of Braith.