by Duval Alex
Jason just stared at him.
‘Right. Sorry. What I mean is, we don’t have to follow him. As if he wouldn’t notice your silly VW in his rear-view anyway!’ Adam said.
‘What do you mean?’ Jason asked.
‘If you look closely at the bumper of this car, you’ll see a sticker with a D and a circle and a little triangle-type thing,’ Adam pointed out.
‘So?’
‘So that is a parking permit for the DeVere Center,’ Adam said. ‘Only employees are allowed to park in that lot.’
Jason’s eyes widened. ‘Are you telling me that this guy works at the blood research center?’
‘I’m telling you he works for Sienna’s father – who runs the blood research center,’ Adam said. ‘Although I’m guessing that the only research our goateed friend does is research into Sienna’s boyfriend and his activities!’
‘I can’t believe it,’ Jason said. ‘They actually have somebody following me just to make sure I stay away from her! That’s insane.’
‘On the up side, at least now we can keep your meeting with Sienna tonight a secret,’ Adam said, then raised his eyebrows. ‘Go ahead, ask me how.’
‘How?’
‘Well, if you’ll look back at this lovely Devereux-mobile, you’ll note that the license plate has a registration sticker on it.’
Jason glanced at the plate. ‘So what?’
‘It’s expired,’ Adam grinned. ‘See what you learn to look for when your father’s a cop? I’ll call in the expired registration just as you leave tonight. The police will pull him over to give him a ticket, and you’ll have the time you need to lose him.’
‘Wow!’ Jason said. ‘Maybe you could have a career in espionage movies. Thanks, man.’
‘Your eternal worship is the only thanks I need,’ Adam told him, leading the way back to the Bug.
Jason slid behind the wheel, feeling hopeful for the first time in days. Tonight he’d see Sienna.
And nobody would catch them.
Fourteen
THE PARKING LOT of the observatory was dark when Jason pulled in. He cut the engine and turned off his headlights, but left the roof of the Bug up. Even though Adam was taking care of Goatee, it didn’t hurt to be careful. He didn’t want to risk being seen with Sienna, and sitting in a convertible with the top down was a good way to be seen.
There were a few cars scattered around the parking lot. Maybe the other people were here to see the view, which was definitely something to witness. The observatory was set up high in the hills near the Hollywood sign, and the city lay spread out beneath it. The lights of the L.A. streets stretched out in front of him like the neon spokes of a giant Ferris wheel. Still, Jason guessed that the people in the other cars were probably too busy making out to look at the view.
By the time he heard the car door open, Sienna was already sitting next to him. He smiled. She could move fast when she wanted to. If he were to become a vampire, he’d be able to do that too.
‘One of your father’s security guys followed me,’ he told her. ‘It was the goateed guy from the speedboat – remember him?’
Sienna nodded. ‘So those guys were spies for my dad!’ she fumed.
‘Don’t sweat it. Adam helped me lose him,’ Jason told her. He grinned. ‘And probably got him a traffic ticket in the process.’
‘Good,’ Sienna laughed. Then she sighed. ‘We can’t get caught, Jason. If I have to go to France, we’ll never get to see each other.’
He took her hand, twining his fingers through hers. ‘I won’t let that happen. Maybe I should just do what my Aunt Bianca says. I think she really does want what’s best for me. I found out she was the one who put the money back in my college account. She—’
‘No, you can’t do it!’ Sienna cut him off. ‘That’s why I had to see you tonight, to tell you I don’t want you to try and become a vampire.’
‘But if I did, we could be together,’ he began.
‘You don’t know what a huge risk it is,’ Sienna cut in. ‘Did your aunt tell you what could happen?’
‘No. What do you mean?’
‘Jason, it’s not a simple little thing – for a human to turn into a vampire,’ Sienna said, her tone serious. ‘There’s a reason the High Council forbids it. And not just because it brings the vampire and human worlds too close together.’ She drew a deep breath. ‘One of the reasons we don’t like humans to turn is that they could die.’
Her words hit Jason like a splash of ice water. ‘Die?’
‘Yes. The transformation is very difficult. Sometimes humans just can’t handle it. Their . . . your genetic structure is different from ours. For some humans, it’s fine and they become vampires with no trouble. They have our powers, our long life, everything we have. They become just like us.’
‘Right,’ Jason said. ‘That’s what I could be.’
‘Yes, but not necessarily,’ Sienna corrected him. ‘Some humans become . . . well, they become . . . unstable. Physically. Their bodies break down. They die.’
Jason took a deep breath. ‘That doesn’t sound good.’
‘That’s not the worst thing,’ Sienna said. ‘Believe me, the incompatible ones who die are lucky compared to the ones who live. When a human is unable to handle the transformation, we don’t always know right away.’
‘But you said—’
‘I said sometimes they die. But sometimes they go mad.’
Jason frowned. ‘Go mad how?’
‘A long, slow descent into insanity,’ Sienna explained, her voice trembling as she spoke. ‘It doesn’t show for a long time, years even. Everything seems fine. The turned vampire has powers and long life and the whole deal. But then something happens. They start hallucinating sometimes. Or they become violent. Sometimes they even succumb to the bloodlust – and you know what that’s like.’
Jason nodded, remembering the glowing green eyes of Luke Archer, the bloodlusting vampire he’d fought back when he’d first moved to Malibu. There had been nothing human about Luke. Nothing sane. He’d been a monster.
‘It’s not just bloodlust,’ Sienna went on. ‘Sometimes there’s extreme dementia. One turned vampire in France went so crazy that she began feeding off herself. She thought she was drinking the blood of a human, but she was really drinking her own blood. They found her dead of blood loss.’
Jason swallowed hard. The image was disturbing.
‘And there was a vampire in New York with the transformation sickness who had such extreme delusions that they had to put him in a mental institution. Think about that. We live for centuries, Jason, so the High Council had to find a way to kill him, otherwise the doctors would have noticed that he wasn’t getting old like he was supposed to.’
‘So he was murdered?’
‘Yes. To protect the other vampires.’
‘It might have been better that way,’ Jason said. ‘He was insane. And he would have had to live that way for hundreds of years!’
‘Exactly.’ Sienna clung to his hand. ‘It’s a horrible fate. Not only to go mad, but to descend deeper and deeper into insanity over such a long period. Jason, do you see why I can’t let you take that risk?’
He nodded slowly. Dying or going mad. Those were pretty bad side effects. Why hadn’t Aunt Bianca mentioned them?
‘Anyway, transforming is not something you even have to consider right now,’ Sienna went on. ‘I mean, we’re young. There’s no rush. We have plenty of time to make life choices like that. If we’re still together in ten years, you can decide then.’
He pulled her closer and kissed her, letting his lips linger on hers. ‘We’ll still be together,’ he murmured.
Sienna pulled back. ‘But what are we going to do about Bianca? If you tell her you’re not going to undergo the transformation right now, won’t she tell my parents about us? She seemed so insistent that it’s something you have to do right away. I don’t get that.’
‘She wants Dani to transform right now too,’ Jason told her.
‘She was talking about her legacy and how we’d have to be vampires to inherit from her. I guess she just wants it done – so she can be sure that we’re her vampire heirs, or something. I mean, once Dani and I transform, there’s no going back, is there?’
‘No, that’s true,’ Sienna said thoughtfully. ‘But what are we going to do? How long do you think she’ll give us before she goes to my parents?’
‘She’s my aunt. She loves me. I’ll just tell her I’m considering transforming into a vampire. I think she’ll be satisfied with that for a while,’ Jason answered, hoping it was true.
‘Right.’ Sienna relaxed. ‘Good. Then it’s settled.’ She pulled her bag onto her lap and dug around inside. ‘I brought you a treat.’
‘Just being with you is a treat,’ Jason said.
She laughed. ‘Aren’t you a smoothie?’ she teased. ‘Look!’ She took a Tootsie Pop from her bag and handed it to him, then pulled out another one for herself.
‘Candy on a stick,’ Jason said, chuckling.
‘We have a long tradition of foods on sticks,’ Sienna said, unwrapping her lollipop.
Jason opened his too, remembering the afternoon they’d spent at the mall. They were Christmas shopping, and he’d introduced Sienna to the concept of the corn dog at the food court. Officially they’d been just friends then, and it was one of the best times they’d ever had together. He held up his Tootsie Pop in a toast. ‘Here’s to you and me,’ he said. ‘And our friendship.’
Sienna ceremoniously tapped her Tootsie Pop against his, then stuck it in her mouth. Jason did the same, and for a moment they just sat silently, looking at the view. ‘We’ve been through a lot together,’ Sienna murmured finally.
He nodded. ‘And we’ll get through this as well. Somehow. Your parents can’t keep us apart forever.’
‘We have to be careful,’ Sienna said. ‘I’ll stay in touch with you through Adam. But I’d better get going now.’ She glanced out the car window, her brow furrowed. ‘I know you weren’t followed, but I still can’t shake the feeling that they’ll find us somehow.’
‘What did you tell your dad?’
‘I said I was going to a club in Hollywood, so I have to put in an appearance there.’
Jason nodded thoughtfully. ‘Hmm, that means that Goatee will probably have gone there when the cops finished ticketing him. He’ll be looking for me, but he’ll only see you. It’s perfect!’
Sienna grinned, reached over and kissed him lightly on the forehead. ‘I’ll see you in school.’ Then she was gone, and Jason was alone with the view.
He pulled out his cell and started to dial Adam’s number, then stopped. He wanted to get his friend’s take on the whole vampire transformation thing. Adam was good at making decisions. He always had lists of pros and cons, and he managed to think of things in a slightly skewed way that helped to give Jason a new perspective. But how could Adam help him here, really? Jason knew there was no real decision to make. Sienna was right: it was too big a risk to take right now. It was too big a decision to rush. There was no harm in waiting.
Except for the part where he couldn’t be with Sienna while he was a human. Which made him consider the risks all over again . . .
Fifteen
WHEN THE ALARM clock went off on Monday morning, Jason was already awake. He’d been tossing and turning all night, thinking about the vampire transformation. It sounded like pretty scary stuff. But how often did the transformation go wrong? What percentage of the time did it work perfectly? He should have asked Sienna those questions.
Jason dragged himself out of bed, exhausted. He figured a nice cold shower would wake him up, so he padded down the hallway to the bathroom and pushed open the door.
Bianca stood inside, her face about an inch from the mirror. She was concentrating so hard that she didn’t notice him behind her. Jason started to leave, but not before he saw what she was doing: plucking her eyebrows. To be more exact, plucking every single hair from her eyebrows. One after the other. Already one of her eyebrows was entirely gone.
That was not normal.
Jason slowly backed out of the bathroom. Whoa, he thought. Mom’s right after all. Something freaky is going on with Aunt Bianca.
All through breakfast, Jason kept an eye on his aunt. She’d drawn her eyebrows in with some kind of make-up and she was acting normal, just eating and reading the paper. On the drive to school, he glanced over at Dani, who was frantically trying to finish her reading for English.
‘Is there some new fad where you pluck out your whole eyebrow?’ he asked.
Dani didn’t glance up from her book. ‘Why? You planning to try out a new look?’
‘Aunt Bianca was doing it this morning.’
That got her attention. ‘Aunt Bee? Really? Maybe it is a new fad.’ She thought for a moment. ‘There were some old-time movie stars who did that. Shaved off their eyebrows and drew in new ones with eyebrow pencil. They got the perfect shape they wanted that way.’
She kept reading. But Jason was still worried.
‘How was shopping yesterday?’ he asked.
Dani dropped her book into her lap. ‘Well, I got this great new pair of jeans. They’re distressed, but not too distressed, you know?’
‘I meant, how was Aunt Bianca?’
‘She was fine, Jason. What’s this all about?’
‘She’s just being a little weird, I think,’ he said. ‘She’s so moody and she doesn’t want to tell Mom why.’
‘Yeah, she was kinda moody yesterday,’ Danielle said thoughtfully. ‘At one store, she actually made the salesgirl cry.’
‘How?’
‘Oh, Aunt Bianca wanted these shoes and the only ones they had in her size were scuffed. So she had a little tantrum and she called the girl a wannabe. I felt bad for the girl.’
‘That really doesn’t sound like Aunt Bianca,’ Jason pointed out.
‘I guess not.’ Dani frowned. ‘It’s pretty typical Hollywood behavior, though. And Aunt Bianca has been working in Hollywood for a while. Maybe it’s rubbing off. She does seem very stressed about work.’
‘That’s true,’ Jason said. ‘And she’s not dating or anything. Between losing Stefan and having this high-pressure career, she’s probably at the end of her rope. She needs a vacation.’
‘I know! I’ll tell Mom to invite Bianca to a spa week. That’s totally relaxing. They could just drive out to Palm Springs or something. It’s perfect!’ Dani picked up her book, a big grin on her face. ‘I’m such a genius.’
Jason let her read for the rest of the drive. His mind went back to the question of becoming a vampire or not. He couldn’t really think about anything else. What would it be like, to know you were going to live for a couple of hundred years? To not worry about sickness or injury?
He turned the VW into the parking lot at DeVere High and found a spot next to Brad’s Jeep.
‘There’s Belle,’ Dani said, peering at the vintage Beemer two spaces away. She slammed her book shut, stuffed it in her bag, and jumped out of the car without a glance at Jason. ‘Belle!’ she yelled. ‘What’s up, homegirl?’
Belle laughed. ‘Come here. I found the ideal shade of brown lipstick for you yesterday. As soon as I saw it, I thought of you . . .’
Jason climbed out of the car as Dani and Belle walked off toward the school.
‘When did they become such good friends?’ Adam asked, coming up behind him.
‘Since Ryan Patrick,’ Jason replied. ‘And palling around with Dani helps take Belle’s mind off Dom.’
Adam nodded. ‘So, what are you up to tonight?’
‘Why?’
‘Because, mon ami, I have something to show you. Something you really want to see.’
‘ParanormalPI.com?’ Jason asked later that evening.
‘That’s what I said,’ Adam replied, tossing Jason’s Nerf basketball at the hoop attached to the bedroom door.
Jason typed the web address into his computer and watched as a serious-looking si
te appeared. ‘It looks like a college information page or something.’
‘Well, yeah, it looks all scholarly. And it is, compared to most of the vampire websites. But there’s still a lot of trash. Check out the titles of the articles in the archive,’ Adam told him.
Jason took a closer look. ‘"Ghost Gives Accurate Information on Mississippi Shootings".’
‘Oh, that one was cool,’ Adam said, tossing the ball again. ‘This ghost communicated with the homicide detective through his iPod.’
‘"Woman Gives Birth to Flying Fish",’ Jason read dubiously.
‘Like I said – a lot of trash.’ Adam threw himself down on Jason’s bed. ‘But it’s a pretty good site even so. They investigate every paranormal story they find in the tabloids, and a lot of them are really hilarious. One or two even turn out to be true – in one way or another.’
‘OK. So why am I interested in this?’
‘Um . . . because you’re dating a vampire?’ Adam said.
‘We’re just friends,’ Jason corrected him.
‘Yes. And I’m a world-champion body builder,’ Adam replied, deadpan. ‘So do you want to see the vampire-interest story or not?’
‘I guess so.’
‘Search for "vampire" in the database.’
Jason typed in ‘vampire’ and hit ENTER. The first link that popped up was entitled, ‘Priceless Vampire Artifact for Sale’. He clicked on it.
‘"A Malibu, California, pawnshop is offering an antique chalice for sale to the highest bidder,"’ he read aloud. ‘"This is no worthless trophy cup. This is a valuable piece of art which is linked with several legendary vampire rituals. Blood sacrifices, undead wedding ceremonies, and vampire initiation are only a few of the sacraments rumored to have been performed with this beautiful chalice."’
Jason stopped reading. ‘Well, they got one of the rituals right.’ The chalice had definitely been used to initiate Zach Lafrenière into the DeVere Heights Vampire Council.
‘I’m thinking this is where our not-so-friendly neighborhood vampire hunter got his lead on the DeVere Heights toothies,’ Adam said. ‘Tamburo probably lurked on sites like this all the time. He saw the notice about the chalice, he came straight to Malibu to find out whether it was a real vampire artifact or not. Because where there’s an ancient vampire chalice, there are likely to be vampires to kill.’