by Duval Alex
‘At least while we’re around, right?’ Mr Freeman joked.
‘And I want to hear about you, Bee,’ Mrs Freeman insisted. ‘I called your apartment in New York a dozen times. And I kept leaving messages with Jacinda.’
‘I told you Jacinda was hopeless. That’s why I fired her,’ Bianca said breezily. ‘I’ll have to check that the answering machine is working at home, I guess.’
‘Do you have any new celebrity sightings to tell me about?’ Dani asked.
‘Tons,’ Bianca replied. ‘I’ve been casting a remake of Saturday Night Fever, so I have lots of gorgeous guys coming in to audition.’
‘They’re remaking Saturday Night Fever?’ Jason asked. ‘That’s a terrible idea!’
Aunt Bianca shrugged. ‘I don’t come up with these ideas, I only cast them. And you wouldn’t believe how much bad dancing I’ve had to sit through.’
‘That’s my cue to leave,’ Jason said. ‘Hearing about actors is bad enough. I don’t want to know about them trying to dance.’ He stood up. ‘I’m going to get some work done on my Faulkner paper.’
As he climbed the stairs, he heard Bianca continuing her casting story. Looks like she finally found a way to make Mom stop asking where she’s been, he thought. He couldn’t help but wonder why his aunt was so reluctant to talk about herself on this visit. Usually she was more than happy to tell them all about what she’d been up to.
Jason shook his head. Would he ever be able to stop thinking this way: as if everything Aunt Bianca did was suspicious somehow? He doubted it. She’d been willing to kill Tyler – a kid she’d known since he was little.
I’ll try to forget about it, Jason promised himself. I’ll try to focus on the future, like Bianca said. She is my aunt, after all, and I know she loves us. But then he remembered the look in her eyes when he had argued with her about Tyler. At least, I think she does . . .
When Jason arrived at the breakfast table the next morning, his mother was already grilling Bianca.
‘. . . but I don’t understand. You have your cell phone with you all the time. Why haven’t you been answering?’ Mrs Freeman asked quietly.
‘I’m very busy, Tania.’ Bianca replied, sounding annoyed. Last night she’d avoided his mother’s questions, but she couldn’t keep doing that forever. Jason hovered in the doorway, wondering if he should go back upstairs. He didn’t want to interrupt.
‘Too busy for your family? Too busy to just let me know you’re OK?’ Mrs Freeman pressed.
‘Yes!’ Bianca snapped, standing up abruptly and going to refill her coffee cup.
‘Well, that’s not acceptable, Bee,’ Mrs Freeman said, sounding annoyed herself. ‘What could possibly be keeping you so busy that you’d act so inconsiderately?’
Jason turned to go, but the movement caught Bianca’s eye. ‘Jason!’ she cried in a relieved voice. ‘Good morning! Want some coffee? I can make more.’
With a grimace, Jason spun back around. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to barge in on you guys,’ he said.
‘Nonsense. We’re not talking about anything important,’ Aunt Bianca said. But Jason saw his mother’s eyes flash, and knew she wasn’t thrilled that he’d shown up when he did.
‘OK. Well, I’m just going to grab a granola bar and head back upstairs,’ Jason said. That way, he could get in and out of the kitchen quickly and leave his mother and Aunt Bianca to talk.
‘Absolutely not. That isn’t a good breakfast. And besides, I’m not here very often,’ Bianca said. ‘I want to see as much as I can of you and Danielle.’
‘Who’s talking about me?’ Dani called from the stairs. ‘You better be saying nice things!’
So much for letting Mom have a private talk with Bianca, Jason thought. He headed for the fridge to see if there was any steak left over from yesterday’s lunch. Why have a granola bar if he didn’t have to?
‘Morning,’ Dani said, padding into the kitchen in jeans and a T-shirt, with bunny slippers on her feet.
‘Hi, sweetie,’ Aunt Bianca practically sang. ‘Sleep well?’
‘I guess . . .’ Dani went straight for the coffee pot. She wasn’t a morning person.
‘You were telling me what you’ve been busy doing, Bianca,’ Mrs Freeman reminded her. Jason shot his mother a surprised look. Obviously she wasn’t going to drop the subject just because Aunt Bianca preferred to talk with him and Dani.
Bianca sighed. ‘I’m working, all right? Why do you care so much?’
‘Because I’m your sister,’ Mrs Freeman said. ‘And I’m worried about you. First you drop out of sight and don’t return calls. Then you show up looking tense and exhausted. And, strangest of all, when I spoke to Jacinda before you let her go, she told me you’d been insisting that everyone talk only in French! What is going on, Bee?’
‘Nothing. I’m fine. Everything’s fine,’ Bianca said shortly.
‘But—’
‘Come on, Dani,’ Bianca suddenly cried, jumping up from the table. ‘Let’s hit Melrose.’
Dani’s eyes went wide and she put her mug down. ‘Seriously?’ She glanced at her mother to see if it was OK, since they were obviously mid-argument here. Mrs Freeman sighed loudly, and nodded at Dani.
‘Yup, let’s go,’ Bianca said. ‘We’ll be there when the stores open and we’ll stay all day. There’s a new restaurant at the corner of Melrose and La Brea that I want to try, so we can do lunch there. And one of the vintage shops is holding a dress for me.’
She was already heading for the door.
‘Let me throw on some shoes,’ Dani said, racing for the stairs.
‘Hurry,’ Bianca said impatiently. She stopped at the table in the foyer and glanced into the mirror on the wall.
‘Bianca’ – Jason thought his mother sounded annoyed, but she forced a smile – ‘how long are you staying in California this time?’
‘I’m not sure yet,’ Bianca said, running her fingers through her hair. She frowned at her reflection, and ran her fingers through again. Then again. Jason wasn’t sure why; her hair looked fine.
‘Ready!’ Dani clomped down the stairs in a pair of wedge-heeled shoes.
Bianca was still trying to fix her hair. ‘Do you have a brush, Danielle?’
‘Sure.’ Dani pulled a hairbrush out of her bag and handed it over. ‘But your hair looks perfect.’
Aunt Bianca didn’t answer. She took the brush, flipped her head upside down, and brushed out her long dark hair. Then she stood upright, checked the mirror again, and nodded with satisfaction. ‘OK, I’m ready. See you later, everyone.’ She grabbed her keys and headed out the door, Dani on her heels.
Jason looked at his mother. She was staring after her sister with a concerned expression on her face. ‘Mom?’ he said. ‘You OK?’
‘I’m fine,’ she replied. ‘But I don’t think Bianca is.’
‘She just has a lot on her mind,’ Jason assured her. ‘I’m sure she’s OK.’
‘I hope you’re right,’ Mrs Freeman said, starting to clear away the breakfast dishes. Jason sat down and finished eating in silence, deep in thought. He knew what Aunt Bianca had on her mind: his transformation. It was preying on his mind too.
All night long he’d had dreams about Sienna. Sometimes they were bad – he and she were being torn apart from each other – sometimes they were good, and, once, he’d been drinking blood. That was the dream that had woken him. He had to admit that it had made him feel kind of nauseous. The thought of drinking blood was sickening. But it was also the only bad thing he could think of about being a vampire.
Otherwise it sounded like a pretty good deal. The vampires in DeVere Heights were rich, powerful and stronger than any human. Besides which they could heal with incredible speed, change their appearance and live for hundreds of years. All in all, it was good to be a vampire.
And it’s not as if they just sit around thinking about how cool they are, Jason thought. The vampire families do all kinds of charity work. It was likely that he would be able to d
o more good in his life if he were a vampire than if he remained an ordinary human.
Aunt Bianca thinks it’s the right thing to do, Jason reminded himself. Yeah, his aunt had been acting kind of bitchy lately. But she was the one who had put the money back in Jason’s account. That proved that she was looking out for him. And didn’t he owe her something for that?
Most important of all was Sienna. If he were a vampire, he could be with Sienna. There would be no more obstacles between them.
‘Honey, I’m going to check on your father,’ Mrs Freeman said, interrupting Jason’s thoughts. ‘He’s been working all morning and he hasn’t had his coffee.’ She carelessly tousled his hair as she walked by, heading upstairs with a steaming coffee mug.
As his mother disappeared up the steps, Jason sighed. He’d just realized the biggest downside to becoming a vampire. It wasn’t drinking blood – he could probably get used to that, given enough time. It was his parents. His mom and dad weren’t about to turn vampire. He probably wouldn’t even be allowed to tell them what he’d become. How could he do something that would set him apart from his own parents in such a drastic way?
It’s not as if I’ve decided yet, he reminded himself. I have to talk it through with Sienna first, anyway. She hadn’t seemed that thrilled with the idea when Bianca had mentioned it yesterday. Was that all about her parents’ opposition? Or was there another reason she didn’t want him to become like her? Did she just not want him to make such a big change only to be with her? And if he decided to do it, would it be mostly for her? Even Jason wasn’t sure about that.
The phone rang, making him jump. He tipped his chair back on two legs so he could reach the cordless on the counter. ‘Hello?’
‘Bonjour. C’est Adam,’ said Adam. ‘Am I interrupting anything?’
‘Yes, and thank you,’ Jason replied. ‘I was making myself insane.’
‘Insane about what?’
‘Oh . . .’ Jason hesitated. ‘My aunt, who’s willing to kill people, wants me to become a vampire like her’ wasn’t the kind of thing you just blurted out over the phone. ‘I’ll tell you about it later,’ he said finally.
‘Cool. So listen, it’s time for more French practice,’ Adam declared. He lowered his voice and added quietly, ‘If you know what I mean.’
‘Well, what I think you mean is that it’s time for more French practice,’ Jason replied.
‘That’s right, my crafty friend,’ Adam whispered. ‘Frrrrench practice.’
Adam was being unusually cryptic – even by Adam’s standards. ‘What’s up?’ Jason asked, intrigued.
‘Nothing,’ Adam said in his normal voice. ‘So meet me at the Getty Center.’
‘The Getty Center?’
‘Yup. At noon,’ Adam said. ‘In front of the doors.’
‘Why are we going to the Getty Center for French tutoring?’ Jason asked.
‘Because you suck at French,’ Adam replied. ‘Duh. See you there.’ He hung up.
Jason stared at the phone for a few seconds, then hit the ‘Off’ button. Adam was being bizarre. But Adam was always kind of bizarre, and Jason needed a break from his vampire thoughts. It would be good to get out of the house for a while, and he’d never been to the Getty Center.
An hour later, Jason was riding the monorail up the steep hill to the museum. He’d had to leave the Bug down below in the parking garage, and now it felt as if he were riding a futuristic train to some sci-fi city. Everything was made of some kind of beige stone, and the whole place looked as if it had simply grown out of the mountain. When he got off the monorail, he just stood still for a moment, looking around. The Getty Center was still a little above him, up a series of wide, shallow steps. Beige steps. He could already see Adam at the top, moonwalking back and forth for Jason’s amusement.
Jason shook his head and jogged up the steps. ‘This place is outrageous,’ he said.
‘Say that in French,’ Adam replied.
‘I don’t know how.’
‘Neither do I,’ Adam admitted. ‘But, yeah, it’s pretty cool. I always think this is what everything will look like once we colonize the moon. It’s very 2001: A Space Odyssey.’
‘If you say so,’ Jason replied. ‘So is there French art here or something?’
Adam gazed at him blankly.
‘Art?’ Jason repeated. ‘Inside the museum? And French, for the French practice?’
‘No, are you crazy?’ Adam said. ‘Let’s go out to the gardens. The museum is lame. This place is all about two things and two things only: the architecture and the views.’ He led Jason through a couple of sets of glass doors and out through the other side of the stone building. A green lawn and a huge garden lay spread out before them. There were more stone buildings surrounding it – classrooms or something, Jason assumed. They were beige too.
A quick movement near one of the buildings caught Jason’s eye. He squinted into the sun. A door was just closing, but he could swear he’d seen somebody there just a second before. Watching him.
‘See? Ocean,’ Adam said, pointing to the right. ‘And that way, city.’ He pointed to the left.
Jason peered at the blue horizon, then at the smoggy gray buildings of Los Angeles. ‘Wow,’ he said. ‘You can see pretty much everything from up here.’
‘Now you understand, young apprentice,’ Adam said. ‘It’s a rockin’ place, and the café makes a mean mozzarella and tomato sandwich.’
‘And we’re here . . . why?’ Jason asked.
‘Because it’s far from the listening ears of Malibu,’ Adam informed him. ‘The listening vampiric, parental ears of Malibu.’
‘Oh,’ Jason said. ‘Oh!’ Now he got it. They weren’t here for French lessons, they were here because Adam had a message for him. From Sienna.
‘Slow on the uptake, aren’t you?’ Adam teased. ‘Here I am being all cryptic and you don’t even notice.’
‘Sorry. I thought you were just being you. I usually only understand about a third of what you say on a good day,’ Jason said. ‘So what’s up?’
‘I got a phone call from the lovely Sienna this morning,’ Adam said. ‘She wants to see you. Tonight. She’s seriously nervous about her parents, isn’t she?’
‘Yeah. Why?’
‘She kept going on and on about how I couldn’t put anything in writing. No sending you emails or text messages or even good old-fashioned notes. She even made me promise not to talk about it on the phone with you.’
‘So that’s why we had to meet somewhere?’ Jason guessed.
‘Yeah.’ Adam’s hazel eyes were serious. ‘She doesn’t really think her parents have your phone bugged, does she?’
‘I don’t know,’ Jason said. ‘That seems crazy. But . . .’
‘But the fact that the toothy ones exist at all is crazy,’ Adam finished for him. ‘Right. Better not to take chances.’
Jason glanced back over at the door to the classroom building. ‘Yeah. Listen, did Sienna say what she wants?’ he asked.
‘I kind of assumed you’d know that,’ Adam said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Jason ignored that. ‘Where am I supposed to meet her?’
‘At the observatory in Griffith Park,’ Adam said. ‘It’s far from home and it’s in the middle of nowhere. Too bad it’s not still closed for renovations – that would have made it an extra good rendezvous point, although the new Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon is awesome. Anyway, you guys should be safe from Sienna’s parents there. Plus, it’s an excellent make-out spot. Or so I’ve heard. It’s in lots of movies.’
‘What time?’
‘Nine o’clock.’ Adam’s face broke into a grin. ‘This is so cloak and dagger! I should do a movie about it – part thriller, part romance. All good.’
The door of the classroom building inched open again, and a guy slid out, his eyes on Jason. But this time, Jason’s eyes were on him too – and Jason recognized him: it was the goateed guy from the speedboat, and the pier.
Jason�
��s blood seemed to freeze in his veins. They stared at each other for a moment, then Goatee slipped quickly back inside the building.
‘Time to go,’ Jason said grimly.
‘What? Why?’ Adam trailed after him as Jason rushed back through the museum toward the main entrance. ‘I was only kidding about the movie—’
‘We’re being hunted,’ Jason told him quickly. ‘Remember our friend with the stupid goatee?’
‘Who could forget?’ Adam replied.
‘He’s here.’
Adam stopped in his tracks. ‘But there are no toothies here,’ he said. ‘There’s just you and me. You don’t think he could’ve assumed that we’re V, do you?’ He sounded frightened. After all, Jason had nearly been killed by the last hunter who’d thought he was a vampire.
‘Keep moving. We need to get back down to the parking garage,’ Jason said. ‘I’ll recognize his car. Maybe we can follow him.’
Adam pointed to the monorail stop. ‘There’s a train about to leave. Let’s go.’ They ran for the monorail, squeezing through the doors just as they were closing.
Jason did a quick scan of the car. No Goatee. ‘I’m confused,’ he said. ‘This is twice I’ve seen the dude when I wasn’t with Sienna. Is he looking for her, or looking for me?’
‘And if he’s found you, why hasn’t he taken a shot?’ Adam murmured.
Jason didn’t know the answer. They rode in silence the rest of the way. The monorail doors slid open in the parking garage, and they hurried out. The museum wasn’t too crowded today, and the parking attendants had directed all traffic to park on the same level. Adam kept watch for Goatee while Jason jogged up and down the line of cars, looking for the black Mercedes.
‘There!’ he said, spotting it behind an enormous Escalade.
Adam ran over and studied the Mercedes. ‘Are you sure it’s this one?’ he asked.
‘I got a pretty good look at it from the fishing pier,’ Jason said. ‘OK, let’s get the Bug. When he comes down to the car, we’ll be ready to follow.’
But Adam was shaking his head. ‘Sometimes, my friend, I think I’ve been gifted with all this brilliance just so I can help you in your quest for . . . What are you questing for, anyway?’