Unafraid by Michael Griffo Page A

knowledge.”
    Luckily, Ciaran did.
    â€œLet me compare Michael’s blood to Saoirse’s, let me conduct experiments on her as well,” Ciaran suggested. “She has got to be linked to The Well even if she isn’t aware of it.”
    â€œDo you think she’ll go along with it?”
    Ciaran didn’t blink. “If I can’t convince her, I’ll do it without her consent.”
    â€œIt looks like you have a lot of work to do.” Without another word, David rose and walked to the door, turning back to face Ciaran only when he reached the archway. “Thank you,” David said humbly. “I only wish I could count on everyone the way I can count on you.”
    Only after David was gone did Ciaran feel the sweat on his brow and his heart thump so wildly in his chest that he thought it might rip open his skin and burst through his shirt. He had no idea why he had offered his sister as a sacrifice, he had no idea why he was allowing his partnership with David to persist, but he knew it, ultimately, made him feel good. It was refreshing to have a purpose and be treated like an adult, like someone with worth and expertise. He didn’t know where any of this might lead, but he knew that now his only choice was to forge ahead.
    Â 
    Hiding behind an expansive oak tree a few hundred yards away, Ronan felt the same way. As he watched David leave St. Albert’s, one thought entered his mind: he had to confront his brother. Had Ciaran learned nothing from the recent events that plagued Double A? Why in the world would he be meeting secretly with David? What could they possibly have to talk about that wouldn’t end in disaster? The only thing that stopped him from racing into the lab and dealing with his brother’s duplicity head on was hearing Michael call his name.
    â€œRonan!” Michael cried out. “Where are you going?”
    Stopping abruptly, Ronan turned around shocked to see Michael standing before him. His first instinct was to ask him why he was walking outside by himself, but he knew that would only serve to make Michael angry and was only a reaction to his just having seen David. Michael was capable of protecting himself; Ronan knew that. He also knew that Michael would understand what he had to do.
    â€œI just saw David leave Ciaran’s lab,” Ronan explained. “I’ve got to make my brother understand he’d be insane to join his side.”
    But Michael didn’t understand. “You’ll be wasting your time.”
    â€œHow can you say such a thing?” Ronan cried.
    â€œBecause it’s the truth,” Michael said, growing exasperated. “If Ciaran doesn’t get the severity of the situation by now, there’s nothing you can say or do that will change his mind.”
    â€œSo what are you saying?” Ronan shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. “That I should do nothing?”
    â€œYes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”
    Ronan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Frustrated, he kicked a rock with such force that it flew about twenty feet above the highest tree before disappearing out of sight. His thoughts ricocheted in his mind: Doesn’t Michael know that David isn’t going to stop trying to find The Well simply because he failed the first time? Doesn’t Michael know that David’s trying to coerce Ciaran into helping him defeat our kind? Doesn’t Michael know that we could lose Ciaran forever?
    â€œMichael knows all of that, Ronan.”
    Stunned that Michael could telepathically hear him even though he wasn’t consciously calling out to him, Ronan realized that his boyfriend was harnessing his vampire powers at an increasingly faster speed. He was impressed, but he was still concerned. “So does Michael know what Ronan should do?”
    â€œStay out of it,” Michael said. “Whatever Ciaran decides to do is his choice.”
    That